The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere
by The Hatter Theory
Summary: SessKag Kagome is betrayed by Inu Yasha and is stuck in her time. However, through a crazy chain of events she finds another way into the past after meeting new people. Shes out to change history and find happiness at last.*Currently Being Rewritten*
1. Chapter 1

**Blix: **Wow. Long time no see Fanfic land. Really, I have missed writing fanfiction. And now I'm back to stay for at least a few more years.

As I am known to do, this is another song inspired fanfic. And as per usual, this song is from the 90's. Really, I am a 90's kid. Always have been always will be. This is for the newest obsession, The Wallflowers. Look up The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere. Really pretty song. But yeah, this song is based off that. Annnnnnnnnyways, hope you guys enjoy the latest bit of Kag/Sess ficcy goodness. I want to write something different, so I'm just gonna go with what comes along and hopefully make some people happy.

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** The Beautiful Side of Somewhere**

**Chapter 1-Tomorrow Is Gonna Make You Cry**

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** Disclaimer:**I don't own Inuyasha, the wallflowers, or their lyrics, or Jakob Dylan...** -censored-**

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Kagome walked down the street towards her home ignoring the odd looks strangers gave her. She was tired, so tired, of pretending everything was okay. Every day at school was another battle to pretend to be happy. Every night was an even worse nightmare. After school every day, when she split apart from her friends, she let the façade fall and stopped forcing all of her energy into smiling. 

Her steps took up her the stairs of the shrine to her home. Souta wasn't back yet, so she didn't have to force herself to smile again. Her grandfather was talking to someone in the temple. And her mother knew. As humiliating as it had been to admit to her mother, she knew the whole story.

The past seven months hadn't changed her feelings hadn't dulled the pain she felt at all. Instead she felt more and more detached. She had tried not to dwell, but each night brought the memories back, every single moment that she wished she could forget.

"Kagome, how are you doing sweetie?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. Kagome gave a faint smile and sat her book bag down on the table.

"Same old, same old momma. I passed my English test today. My professor says he's surprised at how quickly I've caught up," She told her mother. The older woman smiled sadly at her daughter.

"You never seem to get your nose out of those books anymore. How about a break. I know you don't have school tomorrow. How about you and I have a girls day?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. Kagome smiled.

"Okay mom." Kagome knew it was easier to give in these days. Her mother would keep persisting, all in the name of trying to make her mother happy. Kagome knew her mother was worried and it tore her apart to see how her depression was making her mother feel, but she couldn't tear herself out of it, no matter how hard she tried.

"We can go see a movie and grab some lunch. How's that sound?"

"Perfect momma," Kagome smiled cheerily. Inwardly she was groaning. Her mother loved chick flicks, but Kagome had grown to despise them for their impossibly situations and fairy tale endings. She had come to hate how at the end of so many movies, a couple ran off into the sunset, happily ever after.

Even in fantasy worlds that didn't happen. She was walking, talking proof that it didn't.

"Kagome, could you please come here for a moment?" Her grandfather's voice filtered into the house. Kagome smiled, glad for the escape. She left her mother planning in the living room and walked outside to where her grandfather stood with a man much shorter than he was.

"Yes grandpa?" Kagome asked the old man. The older man smiled and gestured to the short, rather ugly old man standing in front of him.

"Mr. Hikigaeru needs an amulet from the storage building, but is insistent that he pick it out. I was wondering if you could take him and help him so that I might see to the others here," Grandpa said. Kagome nodded, somewhat creped out by the short, fat man.

"Thank you Kagome."

With that old man Higurashi was walking away and Kagome not wanting to make small talk with such a creepy stranger, kept silent and walked towards the small store house of religious miscellanea. As she opened the door she thought she heard him mumble something in a scratchy hoarse voice, but chose to ignore it.

"The amulets are over here sir. There are some on the upper shelves. Would you like me to get them down for you?" Kagome asked. He nodded in the affirmative and Kagome grabbed a small step stool and quickly got on top of it. It didn't occur to her till she got to the top step that she was in a skirt. She sent a small prayer to the gods to keep him from looking up it and fumbled quickly for the boxes.

In her haste to get the boxes down from the shelves, she tripped backwards off the stool and took the heavy wooden boxes down with her.

"Damn it girl, look at what you've done to my clothes! They're covered in dust!" Hikigaeru shouted. Kagome pulled her skirt down and shot up off the floor, refusing to rub her sore back and show the man exactly how much pain she was in at the moment. After all, he was being an ungrateful ass in his complaining.

_'Kill them with kindness.'_ Her mother's voice rang through her head and although she didn't want to admit it, this might be the best way of avoiding confrontation.

"I'm sorry sir. Please forgive my clumsiness. If there's anything I can do to help," She began.

"No," He cut her off. "I just want to get the amulet and get out of here," He snapped.

_'Scratch that,' _She thought. She quickly took the wooden boxes on the table in the center of the room and removed the lids one at a time, leaving the cases open to the old man's perusal. As she got the last box from the floor, she noticed a book had fallen from the shelves as well.

Odd, but she hadn't noticed it before. And unlike everything else, it was devoid of dust and shows of age.

'The Rise And Fall Of The Youkai Empire' It read. Kagome started a little at the title and set it down on the table by the door, resolving to read it later. Maybe she would find out what happened to Inu Yasha and the others.

Minutes passed by and the watched the old man go through each box and continue to feel each amulet. Finally his hand clutched a heavy bronze medallion that hung from a rosary of heavy red beads.

"I've found it," He said with a smile. Kagome nodded and put the lids back on the boxes quickly, wanting to get out of the old man's presence as quickly as possible. He barely gave her a nod before he left the store house, waddling quickly away. Kagome hugged and decided against trying to put the boxes back on the shelf. There was virtually no point in trying to put them back up there. He back was still hurting from the fall and she doubted she could lift the boxes back up to the high shelves. She'd just see if her grandpa could ask the guy helping at the shrine to do it later.

She grabbed the book and closed the door behind her, forgetting to lock it. She walked past her grandpa and smiled as he gave her a nod of thanks. His expression seemed to show that he too was ready to see the old man leave.

She quickly walked into the house and past the kitchen where she heard her mother cooking. She knew Souta would be home soon and wanted to avoid talking to him for a little while. Like her mother, he seemed to sense how sad she was, and strove to be nice and kind, when in reality she just wanted him to pull a prank on her instead of giving her so much pity.

Instead of socializing with her family today, she just wanted to begin reading the book she had found in the store room.

"The Rise and Fall of the Youkai Empire, by Zenken Omura. Hmm, I wonder if he wrote this to seem real or mythological," Kagome wondered aloud. She glossed over the index, searching for something she knew something about. Oddly there was quite a bit about some demons she had fought, including the band of seven and other minor demons. She didn't see Inu Yasha's name though. But she did see a promising chapter entitled 'The Hanyou That Destroyed The Youkai'. It sounded like what Inu Yasha did.

"Page 175. Okay,' Kagome said with a smile. She flipped through the pages and came to the chapter, ready to read about Inu Yasha.

But as she read into the chapter, she realized that it was about two hanyou. And one of them was Inu Yasha. The other was Naraku.

And the more she read the more it scared the hell out of her.

_'The hanyou Naraku was absorbing youkai into himself after his servant, the half inu youkai whose name has been lost, beat and captured them. It is still not understood why the hanyou worked for the other. The myths indicate that at first they were enemies. But after several months almost all the youkai had been absorbed by the hanyou Naraku. For those that believe in the old myths of the youkai, it is said that the rest went into hiding and died out._

_'However, the two hanyou that had brought about the extinction of the youkai race are said to have quarreled over a woman and ultimately destroyed one another.'_

Kagome didn't try to read on wasn't sure if she could. She knew the woman spoken of in the book was Kikyo. But it was just a book, right? The guy wrote it like it was a bunch of myths. And there were different ways of telling myths, different ideas, different endings.

Weren't there?

Kagome quickly flipped through the book, searching for some other story she might know the truth of, to see if maybe the book was nothing but tales blown out of proportion, or even outright lies of history. She stopped when she noticed Sesshoumaru's name and began to read the middle of the page.

_'Sesshoumaru was the Lord of Western Japan, and inu youkai that ruthlessly killed all of his enemies. He carried two swords, one that brought nothing but death to his opponents, and one used to restore life to the newly dead. It is said he used the latter sword on only three occasions, though stories have not survived about who or why.'_

Kagome left that paragraph and skipped to the next page, hoping for an outright lie.

_'It is said that once Sesshoumaru tried to capture the sword of his father and was thwarted by his brother and a human girl. He lost his arm in the battle after having transformed into his true form a huge dog.'_

Kagome felt like giving up hope as she read those lines. Then something occurred to her. She jumped up from her bed and to her computer and logged onto the internet, quickly pulling up a search engine.

She typed in 'the rise and fall of the youkai empire' and waited for the results. She found nothing but book review sites and quickly clicked on one.

_'The book, while an entertaining read, deviates from normal mythology, even going so far as to create new ones. While Zenken Omura creates a wonderful world, he has no evidence to substantiate that half of these stories are even myths.'_

Kagome's eyes widened and she clicked onto another page, looking over the details.

And another.

And another.

All of the reviews said the same thing. Most of the stories in the book were not considered Japanese myths by any stretch of the imagination. Several professors suggested that the book would sell better as a fantasy book instead of a reference text because there were so few references to the traditional youkai myths and eve those deviated from the normal stories.

Kagome sat back, trying to absorb all of this information and what it meant.

Someone had intimate knowledge of Sesshoumaru and she assumed Inu Yasha and Naraku. Whoever Zenken Omura was, he knew about youkai that no one else knew about, that most professors called fiction even to mythology.

Her mind was racing and trying to find some other answer, something that would disprove the horrible text written in the book. She knew that it could all be just stories. She knew that some of it could be made up.

But why?

As she tried to calm her heart and mind down, she entered a new search, 'Author Zenken Omura', and prayed for something useful to show up.

After looking through five or six pages of useless text about different books he had written, Kagome stumbled across a page that had information about the man's education, where he went to school, and the general area of where he grew up, and even contact information. She quickly wrote down the address and resolved to go see him the next day. There were no pictures of him that she could find, so she shut down her computer and put the address inside the cover of the book and set it aside for the moment.

After giving a quick glance at the clock, she realized she should probably go downstairs for dinner.

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"Mom, is there any way we can reschedule our girl's day for next weekend?" Kagome asked conversationally. She saw the wounded look in her mother's eyes and quickly tried to think of some excuse that would take a little bit of that pain away. 

"I was reading this book I found today and it talked about a shrine dedicated to a demon exterminating village in Chiba and read some of the history on it. I think it's Sango's old village," Kagome said. God how she hated lying to her mother, but at this point it was probably better than telling her mother the truth.

"Oh," Her mother said, her eyes losing the hurt and turning more sympathetic.

"Yeah, I was just thinking I could go there and say a prayer. I should be back in time for us to go see that movie and grab some dinner, if you want to leave the guys to fend for themselves," Kagome joked. Her mother looked…Happy?

_'Has it really been so long since I cracked a joke?'_ Kagome wondered to herself silently.

"That sounds alright dear. Do you have fare for the train?" Her mother asked.

"Yes mama," Kagome sighed playfully. Inwardly she was tying herself in knots with mental acrobatics. It was amazing how many possibilities the human brain could come up with when given a situation that included many unknown factors. What was more amazing was the bad to good ratio when it came to the possibilities.

"Kagome, could you help me with my writing project tomorrow night? It's due next Friday and I need to have a really good story, so I figured I could just write about something you did in the past," Souta mumbled.

"Souta I thought we talked about this earlier," Mrs. Higurashi began.

"No, it's okay mama. Sure I'll help you Souta," Kagome told her brother with a smile. Inside she was hurt that her family had spoken about her without her present. Had she really sunk so low into depression? She looked at her mother's face again and noticed the surprise there.

A new self loathing sprouted in Kagome and she pushed back the urge to cry. She hadn't cried since the night she came out of the well and told her mother everything that had happened. She wasn't about to cry in front of her brother. He didn't know what Inu Yasha had done and she swore she'd let him keep his ideals about the person he thought Inu Yasha was.

"Kagome, I was wondering, which amulet did the old man grab today? He gave me a large sum of money. I'm pretty sure there weren't any in the store room worth that much," Grandpa began.

"I didn't see much of it to be honest. It was a big bronze medallion that was on a necklace of big red beads," Kagome told the old man.

"I don't think I remember there being something like that in there," Higurashi stated thoughtfully.

"Why do you ask father?" Kagome's mother asked, curious of the thoughtful look on the old man's face.

"Something just seemed off about that stranger. It was more than his rudeness. It seemed like he didn't even want to be here. And then that large sum of money. He gave me 6000 yen for it. And he didn't seem to be the religious type. I don't know," He finished.

"Six thousand yen, for that old thing? You're kidding!" Kagome choked on the piece of oden she had been eating.

"That's quite a bit father. Perhaps he was an antiques dealer," Kagome's mother suggested.

"Probably," The old man finished.

The rest of the meal was finished in relative quiet, Souta only talking about school. Kagome helped her mother clear the table and then walked back to her room ready to catch some sleep so she could get up early and catch the train when it wasn't crowded with all of the teenagers off school the next day.

She was thinking over Inu Yasha when she heard her door open and close quietly.

"Kagome, are you asleep?" A voice asked quietly. She smiled and sat up.

"No Souta. What do you need?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome, what happened? Mom told me not to talk about Inu Yasha anymore after you got back, but why? You're different now," Souta observed as he came and sat at the oot of her bed. Kagome let out a sigh and leaned against the wall her bed was against.

"It's a long story Souta, but Inu Yasha hurt my feelings. He couldn't really help it. He just didn't like me as much as I liked him I guess," Kagome said, leaving out major parts of the real story. But Souta idolized the hanyou, and she didn't want to disillusion her little brother.

"Oh. Is that why you don't go back anymore?" Souta asked.

"Yeah Souta. But I'm okay, I'm getting over it," Kagome said with a smile.

"Promise?" He asked suddenly. Kagome looked at him, startled and hurt.

How many times would she be shown today that in her depression, she had been hurting members of her family?

"I promise Souta," Kagome said with a smile. Souta smiled back.

"You know, he's not worth ti Kagome. If he can't see how cool you are, he's not worth being sad over," Souta said as he hopped off the bed and began to walk to the door.

"Oh no you don't! Not after a comment like that!" Kagome growled as she yanked her brother back into the bed and hugged him tightly. Souta tried to squirm away for a moment before deciding it was better to just give in and let his sister hug him.

"Things are going to get better Souta," Kagome promised. She felt Souta nod and he tugged himself out her embrace and quickly left the room with a final smile at her before he closed the door.

She sighed inwardly. Maybe it would get better. For the sake of her family she had to try and find some way to bring closure to her feelings for Inu Yasha, for everything that had happened.

She remembered how her mother had said everything gets easier to handle with time. Seven months had passed. She was a junior in high school. About to be a senior. And nothing had changed, except her grades were better than before she had dropped into the well in the first place.

With a sigh she threw the covers over her head and settled into the pillows and thought about the book she had found, about the author, about the implications.

But she hoped that maybe she'd talk to whoever the author was and maybe be able to put the past exactly where it belonged.

In the past.

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**Blix: **Please reveiw, it does keep me going. No, Zenken is not who you think it is, really, trust me. And 6000 yen is somewhere around fifty american dollars btw. Hope you guys liked the chapter. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Blix:** I love you guys! It's really good to be welcomed back. Thank you guys. Well, here's the next chapter. I'll be honest, I really did plan on writing more, however, there's been some stuff to deal with and such, like looking for a new job. And I wanted to get this out in a semi-decent amount of time. So here it is. I'll try to have another chapter out in the next few days. Please forgive me for taking so long.

Once again guys, thank you for the reviews. I've missed them in my emails.

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inu Yasha, The Wallflowers, their lyrics, or Jakob Dylan. However I will say Inu Yasha rocks and Jakob Dylan is an infinitely beautiful man and his lyrics are amazing.

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**The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere**

**Chapter 2-It's Gonna Make You Kneel**

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The next morning Kagome boarded the Enoshima Train and settled herself into a rather uncomfortable bench seat in the back of the train. She had slight misgivings about this trip. Kamakura was in the Kanagawa prefecture, and about 30 miles away. The train could take up to an hour to get there and her mind had already come up with a thousand different things that could go wrong. 

It was still cold, although recently it had begun to get a little warmer, but the train would be passing through the mountains to get there and there could still be ice on the tracks, or there could be some sort of damage done by what could be considered even minor ice slides. Her heart began to race and she started to regret ever stepping into the train station. Suddenly a day of her mother's pity seemed like a much better idea.

She managed to ignore the fact that all of these reasons for staying at home were merely excuses to avoid meeting Zenken and finding out the truth.

"Are you alright miss?" An old woman's voice broke through her thoughts and Kagome looked up at the seat across from her, startled. She noticed an old woman with fair skin and long white hair with bangs that went almost to her eyes.

"I- I'm fine," Kagome stuttered. The old woman smiled knowingly. Oddly, Kagome felt comforted.

"I never like getting on this thing either, especially not with all the cold weather icing up the tracks through the hills," She said, her voice kind. "But Ryuhoji is there, so I go there," The old woman asked.

Kagome couldn't be sure, but it looked like her eyes were a reddish brown.

"Ryuhoji?" Kagome asked, curious. She remembered having heard the name once before, but couldn't remember where exactly.

"It's a temple. The original temple doesn't stand anymore, they reconstructed it, but buildings don't matter. Just the place. The land always remembers," The old woman smiled sadly.

Kagome feared asking the woman any more questions. Surely the original temple had been gone for at least a century or two. So why did the old woman look so sad as she spoke of it? Kagome settled into silence with the old woman uneasily, her burning to ask more questions, but refusing to cause the old woman any pain. She wouldn't repay kindness with rudeness.

"You look like a girl I once knew," The old woman said almost twenty minutes later. Kagome, jerked out of her reverie, looked startled.

"I remember she had blue eyes, very much like yours. It's an odd color for Japan, I remember," She finished.

"My father was American," Kagome started.

"Ah, that explains it. You look so much like her. Strange, isn't it? I knew her when I was just a little girl. So long ago, it seems," The old woman said. Kagome thought she noticed something on the woman's forehead. Impossible, just a trick of the light.

"What was her name?" Kagome asked, curious.

"I can't remember dear. But that was a long time ago. What about you, what's your name?" The old woman asked.

"My name is Kagome," She replied. "May I ask yours?"

"Mikineko," The old woman said with a chuckle. Kagome's eyes widened. What an odd name!

"So Kagome-san, why is it you travel to Kanagawa?" The old woman asked. Kagome couldn't remember telling the woman she was getting off in Kanagawa, but brushed it off. She had been so nervous when she had first gotten on the train she could have said anything and not remembered it.

"I'm going to Kamakura. There's someone there I need to speak to about one of his books," Kagome told her.

"Are you a student?"

"Yes. This isn't really for school though, just one of my hobbies. I found this book in my mother's shrine and read on it. I've never heard some of these myths and I want to see where he got the data for them," Kagome explained.

"I'm something of a story teller. My mother taught me all the myths and legends from the time I was a small girl, they were her bedtime stories to me. May I see the book?" Mikineko said. Kagome handed her the book and started at the sudden smile spreading across the old woman's face.

"Old Zenken. I know this book. He got some of the information from me, some from his family. It was an easy book for him to write. Many of us know the old stories," Mikineko said in an almost fond manner. Kagome's curiosity piqued, and they still had awhile before they reached Kamakura.

"Could you tell me some of the stories, how they were told to you? Most of the ones in the book supposedly don't exist or they deviate from the true story," Kagome said.

"That's what professors say today, but the stories here are as we heard them as children, before mythology became an area of interest, before it became a sort of science I suppose," Mikineko started.

"But the professors have texts, scrolls, things that have the myths written down," Kagome started.

"Child, myths are never really set in stone. They're perspectives. Some stories go on different perspectives. Kings wrote down myths as they say fit. But the common man passed his down through stories to their children," Mikineko told her.

"But can't stories change over time, from person to person?" Kagome asked. The woman sighed, as if tired of all of youth's doubts and today's cynical perspective.

"Perhaps, but some stories never change. Sometimes they are too brutal, too frightening, to change," She told Kagome, her voice reflecting an inner disquiet. Kagome took in the old woman's suddenly weary expression, the way her eyes turned sad.

"What stories did you contribute to the book? I'm very interested to know," Kagome started. Hoping to make the older woman turn away from whatever memories made her so sad.

"I helped contribute some stories of the Band of Seven, some about Tsubaki, a little bit about the youkai lord Sesshoumaru. Bits and pieces of Naraku and his minions. And what little my mother had told me of the Lord Shippou," The woman said.

Kagome jerked, as if slapped, when she heard Shippou's name. In her surprise she didn't notice Mikineko's eye's becoming sharper, more focused on her. Didn't notice the flash of triumph.

"The Lord Shippou?" Kagome asked, her voice hoarse. Thoughts raced through her mind. Nothing was making sense. Shippou? Her Shippou? Was it too much to hope for, that he had survived? Become a lord no less? She tried to imagine the slightly cowardly little kitsune and couldn't come up with the image of him grown up, as a lord.

"Well didn't you read the book dear? There was a chapter about him in there," Mikineko said innocently.

"No, I hadn't read the whole book. Could you tell me about him?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know too terribly much my girl. You'd probably do better to read the book," The old woman started. Kagome tried to think of some way to persuade her.

"But I love to hear stories spoken aloud. My grandfather is the priest at the shrine I live at, and he tells me stories all the time!" Kagome exclaimed, praying she wasn't spreading it on too thick. And it wasn't a lie. Her grandfather did tell stories. His problem was shutting up.

"I see. Well, I suppose I could," Mikineko began hesitantly. Kagome didn't see the flash of joy flit through the woman's oddly colored eyes.

"Well, the story continues shortly after the inu hanyou and Naraku became a team, did you read about that?" She asked. At Kagome's nod she continued. "Well, apparently the inu hanyou and Shippou had traveled together. Once the inu hanyou became the servant of the hanyou Naraku, Shippou decided to leave him, or vice versa, no one's really sure. Either way, Shippou struck out with a wolf youkai, a woman none the less. Well, over time he trained his powers and became proficient. Because of Naraku and the inu hanyou, humans began to attack youkai, but because of Shippou's abilities, he was able to hide the youkai and hanyou around him from humans.

"Supposedly youkai and hanyou were disguised as humans, and his abilities never wavered. For this they made him lord of the eastern lands. During that time, he was able to destroy many enemies of youkai. He would only protect those good of heart. However it is said he battled the lord of the western lands. The other lord did not appreciate that he was hiding the youkai. Sesshoumaru, the western lord, thought youkai should be able to walk freely, that humans were subject to them."

Kagome almost let out a bit of hysterical laughter. Yeah, that sounded like Sesshoumaru alright. The stiff had hated humans, couldn't stand them. Kagome couldn't imagine he would have been too pleased by the thought of being subject to humans in any way. She wondered if his pride had eventually killed him. It was possible. If he wouldn't hide (and she was almost positive he wouldn't) then humans might try to kill him. Although he was an exceptionally strong youkai.

"But Shippou still protected youkai, and soon Sesshoumaru asked that Shippou extend his abilities to those in the western lands. He offered the use of the army of the west should Shippou ever need an ally. Shippou agreed, and to seal the pact, Shippou married the ward of Sesshoumaru, a human girl."

Kagome almost felt her jaw drop. Okay, so maybe Sesshoumaru wasn't exactly stuck in hell because of his pride. At least not according to myth. She wouldn't believe it unless Sesshoumaru himself confirmed that he had given in to the situation and hidden his heritage, who he was, from the human race, probably from the whole world.

No way.

"He continued to protect the youkai until his death, and for a moment all youkai and hanyou in the east and western lands were revealed, only to seem human once again, for Shippou's son took over the duty of hiding all youkai. They say the legacy continued, and none know when it stopped, if it did," Mikineko finished.

"You say it like it's true," Kagome said carefully. Mikineko smiled enigmatically.

"Who knows? There are things beyond all of our imaginations. Once upon a time Pluto did not exist, and we could not fathom stepping upon the moon. We used to believe our land the only land in the world, or that the world was flat. Scientists were once ostracized for saying the sun was the center of our universe, and look at all that. Perhaps youkai did exist, perhaps they did not. What are humans to say?" Mikineko finished.

"But there's no evidence to suggest that youkai existed. Even if they were made to look as humans did, wouldn't their bones have showed they were youkai?" Kagome asked. Was it her, or did Mikineko roll her eyes before looking outside the window at the passing scenery.

"I suppose you're right. But it is nice to pretend sometimes, isn't it? To imagine creatures like that," Mikineko asked, her voice wistful. Kagome sighed and nodded in agreement.

'_If people pretended they were real more often, or even believed, then maybe I wouldn't feel so crazy,'_ She thought to herself.

Sometimes she wondered if it had happened at all, but the pain in her heart proved it true. Nothing imaginary could have hurt her heart so much.

"We're almost there. I was wondering, since Zenken is an old friend of mine, and you wish to go see him, I could take you there and introduce you. You've been a nice girl, speaking to an old lady like me during the train ride. It's the least I could do. If I know Zenken he's probably holed up in his study reading some dusty old tome and rejecting all visitors. But he won't if I'm with you," Mikineko told her.

"I would be so grateful. Thank you so much Mikinekeo-san," Kagome gushed. Mikineko smiled, a genuine smile.

"Most young people are losing touch with the past. It's refreshing to see one so young interested in the history of this land," Mikineko told her.

"But it's not the history of the land," Kagome began. Mikineko looked somewhat chagrined, then calmed her features quickly into a smile.

"In a way it is. It is the history of our people's beliefs, their superstitions, and their fears. The myths reflect a rich history. A history of honor, strength, and pride. Think about what those myths say, what they tell people," Mikineko urged her.

"I suppose you're right. From what I've read and heard so far, it's like the myths reflect what the Japanese strive for. Intelligence, strength, honor. I can see what you meant now," Kagome said brightly. She brushed the old woman's use of words off now that they were explained. For a moment she had been truly hopeful the woman knew something, maybe believed the youkai had existed.

The two rode out the rest of the train ride in silence, Kagome keeping her sighs to herself.

'_What if someone had believed that youkai existed? What would I tell them? They may believe youkai exist, but I doubt they'd believe I got drug down a well and into the feudal era. I mean, come on!'_ Kagome thought to herself. But her thoughts quickly drifted to Shippou. He had had a child, with Rin. And died. He had died. Kagome couldn't get over the fact. A small part of her had been hoping that maybe he had been waiting for her to come and find him. That he had survived the past centuries.

She almost started crying. Time had taken too many things from her, and all because Inu Yasha had to be a jerk, a self centered prick! It wasn't fair. She should have been able to see Shippou again, and maybe even his baby! It wasn't fair. Kagome lamented the loss of the kit she had come to see as a baby brother. It wasn't right that she couldn't see him ever again, just because of what Inu Yasha did. What he had decided to sacrifice, for Kikyo.

Had his one selfish decision cost all of the youkai their existence?

"Kagome, we're here," Mikineko told her. Kagome brought herself to the present and stood up with the old woman.

"Why so sad Kagome? It looks like you're about to cry," Mikineko asked, her voice holding what sounded like genuine concern. Kagome hated herself for acting so weak in front of someone, hated the concern. She'd had enough the past seven months. She didn't want it from an almost total stranger!

"Nothing Mikineko-san. Just thinking about the past," Kagome told her carefully, forcing a smile.

"Well, the past is the past. Perhaps all we can do is learn from it," Mikineko said as they stepped off the train.

"Now, would you like to go to Zenken's first, or to the temple. I know you wanted to get straight to Zenken's home, but the temple is nearby, and I only need to make a quick visit," Mikineko told her. Kagome smiled. How could she repay the woman's favor by asking her to put off her own endeavor?

"We can go to the temple first, I don't mind," Kagome said. Mikineko smiled gratefully.

"Thank you dear," Mikineko said. Kagome walked just behind the old woman and off to the side a bit so she could follow her. Mikineko walked to the exit of the train station and stood near the front of the sidewalk, as if waiting. Kagome shivered and pulled her jacket closer around herself. She smelled the salt on the air and felt the ocean breeze hit her. After a few minutes Kagome looked around and noticed the sign for buses was on the other side of the road.

"Mikineko-san, isn't the bus stop over there?" Kagome asked, confused. She hoped the old woman wasn't senile.

"Yes, they are. But I have a car pick me up every time I come here. It's a sort of tradition," She replied, her expression serene. Kagome wondered how she could stand the cold wind that blew lightly around them, playing with Kagome's hair. It may not have been a strong wind, but it was already cold out, and the wind carried the coldness of the ocean on it.

Several more minutes passed, and suddenly a small blue car drove up to the sidewalk. Kagome noticed a rather short, fat man sitting in the driver's seat.

"Hello Tachi. It's good to see you again. I was hoping that after our visit to Ryuhoji, if you would be so kind as to take my guest and I to Zenken's home," Mikineko said sweetley. Tachi nodded warmly.

"Indeed. Zenken's been crawling the walls lately. He'll be glad of the company," Tachi told her as she got into the front seat. Kagome stepped into the bad and settled in, glad to be out of the cold and into the warm car.

"By the way Tachi, this is Kagome. She's interested in finding out the origins of the myths in Zenken's novel."

"That old thing? Most people don't want to know anything about it, they just call it a load of-" Tachi began. He quit when he noticed the glare Mikineko was sending him.

Funny, Kagome noticed dark circles beneath his eyes. It gave him a funny raccoon affect, as if he had been wearing eyeliner the night before and hadn't washed it off.

"I want to know where he found everything out. I know Mikineko told her some and thyat they were passed down verbally, and I was hoping to see what Zenken could tell me, and if he left anything out of the book," Kagome said with a smile.

Wow. She was forcing a lot of bright smiles today. All in the name of finding out the truth. She wanted Zenken to be someone she used to know. Yet, at the same time, she was terrified it was. She prayed the story about Inu Yasha wasn't true, prayed that he had lived a long happy life, never joined Naraku, and completed the jewel.

"Zenken will love talking to you, as long as you don't try to say he made all the stories up. Trust me, if he had made them up, he would have had a lot more to work with," Tachi told her. Kagome nodded and listened to the apparent friends chatter amiably as they drove to the temple.

"Here we are," Tachi said as he parked the car. Kagome noticed his voice had lost some of it's happiness, and Mikineko looked almost sad, as if hiding a sort of burden.

Kagome, you can wander around. We'll be in the main hall," Mikineko told her. Kagome nodded and they got out of the car, walking down the pathway. They parted ways and Kagome walked down a small pathway and saw what looked like a garden.

She sat on a bench and looked at the bare path of earth. Idly she wondered what grew there.

"Hello Miss," A new voice said. Kagome looked at the monk she had failed to notice before.

"Hello, I'm sorry, is this a private area?" Kagome asked.

"No. Most people don't come here during winter though. The peony garden is a bit of an attraction for people in the spring though. If you like, the Ofuna Flower Center is nearby. They have greenhouses with gardens year round," He offered. His smile was genuine, and Kagome felt more at ease. Odd, she would have thought all her time around a certain monk would make her wary of other ones. However she felt at ease in the young man's presence.

"Oh no, I'm just waiting for some friends to be done. They're in the main hall right now," Kagome told him.

"Oh, Mikineko and Tachi, am I correct?" He asked. Kagome nodded.

"They come here a lot, but once a year they request the great hall be empty so they can say a prayer. They've been doing it since before I came here, but they're good people," He offered.

"I met Mikineko today, as well as Tachi. They're taking me to meet Zenken," Kagome told him. The monk sat down beside her on the bench and smiled fondly.

"Zenken's a nice man once you get past his gruff exterior. I think the past has made him a bit harder. Mikineko tells me that he used to be fun loving, but then he lost many he cared for. I suppose the people who critiqued his book didn't help either. I heard he went into seclusion after it was so badly received, refusing to write another book."

"How do you know so much about them? Aren't monks supposed to be, well, separate I suppose?" Kagome asked.

"Only as separate as we want to be, trust me. I still communicate with those who come here," He said with a smile. Kagome smiled back and let her gaze wander back to the barren earth inside the fence.

"Do you know anything about the myths Zenken wrote about?" Kagome asked. She heard the monk sigh.

"Only a little, and the myths my father told me weren't happy ones. Most of the ones Zenken wrote of only have very sad endings."

"Oh," Kagome said. The silence grew, but Kagome felt strangely comfortable in it.

Several minutes later Mikineko and Tachi were walking down the path and spotted Kagome.

"Ah, I see you've met Kouin. Kouin, this is Kagome," Mikineko said. Kagome smiled and looked at Kouin, only to notice him staring at her strangely, as if reevaluating her. His eyes turned appraising, and he looked as if he had retreated into his own little world.

"It's nice to know your name Kouin-san," Kagome said uncertainly, feeling awkward and confused at his odd stare.

"It's nice to meet you Kagome-San," He said.

"Well Kouin, we must be going. We'll be back soon," Mikineko promised the young monk. Kouin, for his part, only nodded dumbly as Kagome stood and bowed.

Minutes later they were back in the car and Kagome couldn't help but ask the question burning in her mind.

"Why did he look at me so strangely when you told him my name?"

"I don't know," Mikineko said with a small smile. "Zenken's isn't far from here, right down the way actually. I know he'll be happy to see you." The old woman said the last with an almost mischievous grin. Kagome wondered at her words as they remained silent in the car for the duration of the ride.

However, Kagome was drawn from her thoughts as the car went down a long driveway. It seemed almost like they were going to drive water! Instead, the car made a sharp turn and they drove past the rocky waterfront. Kagome was made very, very aware that the roads were still slick from the rain and cold, and also very, very aware of the sharp rocks that would be the end of any crashes.

"Here we are, finally. I swear Tachi, you drive more slowly than any other old man on the planet," Mikineko accused playfully. Tachi made a dismissive sound as he climbed out of the car. Was it Kagome, or was Mikineko smiling a lot more as they got closer to the house?

"Come now Kagome-san. Zenken will be very pleased to meet you," Mikineko urged as she too, stepped from the car. Her step seemed too sprightly for a woman her age, her vitality seemingly out of place.

Kagome wondered why Zenken would be so happy to meet her, and why Mikineko seemed so eager all of a sudden.

What was going on?

Ten minutes later she was staring at an old painting of what looked like a kitsune and his family. Vaguely she wondered if it was based off someone real.

"Hello, Kagome-san," A voice said. Kagome started and looked at the old man coming into the room. She turned and bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Omura-san," She replied.

"None of that. Call me Zenken. Now, Mikineko tells me you want to know about my book," Zenken began. Kagome took in the long white hair that had a few stray hairs of color, the vivid green eyes, the tired lines around his eyes. He looked so old, so tired. Kagome wondered if she would eventually look like that, wizened by the weight of the memories.

"Yes sir. I came across your book at my shrine and read some parts of it. I was wondering where you heard the myths, if you left anything out," Kagome started.

"I did nothing of the sort. Those myths are as I heard them, and my sorces are very reliable," Zenken told her sharply. Kagome sighed. She hadn't meant to make him angry.

"Zenken-sama, I didn't mean to offend. I just want to know as much as possible," Kagome began.

"Any particular story?" He asked, his voice seemingly uncaring, but Kagome noticed his eyes took on a more focused sharpness.

"The story of the inu hanyou," Kagome told him. "The one that was helping Naraku. I want to know about him, if you know anything."

Moments passed and the old man sat back in his chair with a long, drawn out sigh that sounded almost…Grateful?

"His name was Inu Yasha, and that's a long story in the telling," Zenken began.

"But you can skip the part where she traveled with him. I'm sure she remembers that well enough," A new voice said. Kagome almost jumped out pf her chair.

She couldn't look. She was so scared. Was it a trap? Or a trick? Had her mind finally given in under the memories and the pain? Did she imagine the confident, strong voice that said those words?

"Turn around Kagome. Look at me," The voice said again.

She didn't want to. She was so scared it wouldn't be real. That she was crazy, that she had given in to insanity the moment she heard Inu Yasha's name.

But she turned anyways.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked. The woman looked to be in her forties. But it was the blonde and black hair mixed with stray white that caught her. The pointed ears. The red eyes with catlike black slits in the center.

Kagome felt like she should know the youkai standing in front of her.

"Kagome, it's me. Kirara," The woman said.

Kagome fell to the ground with a thump and pulled her knees to her chest. It couldn't be real. Kirara had never taken a human form. It had to be a trick, or worse, an illusion. Somewhere in the distance she heard something being babbled, not realizing it was her own voice denying what she saw. Tears formed and streamed steadily down her face as she began to rock back and forth, shaking her head rapidly to try and make the reality she felt go away to something saner.

She was falling into something, she couldn't tell what. Things sped through her mind, a silent film of memories she didn't want to face. Inu Yasha throwing her into the well. The blackness she saw descend over the entrance as she fell through time. The last look he gave her. The triumph of some sort of madness. Shippou's cries before the well was covered up. The pain as she fell into the dirt and bones on her side of time. Her screams echoed in her head.

And then warmth. A kind of engulfing warmth that spread through her. And strength. A sort of fluid energy that braced her, pulled her back from her retreat. She felt love radiating from the warmth, a kindness that felt like it should be familiar as well. It smelled like pine and new leaves. And cinnamon. She felt like she should know the scent, the strength. From where?

"Kagome, Kagome-san. Come back. It's time to come back to us. We need you Kagome, and we're here for you," A voice whispered over and over into her mind. She came from within and opened her eyes, her entire body trembling.

"Who are you?" She asked the man sitting in front of her, who slowly let his arms fall from around her.

"I am Kigai, Shippou's second son. We've been looking for you for a long time Kagome," He told her. Kagome looked closely at his face. Emerald eyes. Black hair with reddish tints fell thick and straight around his face. How strange, he looked very much like a grown up Shippou would, yet more refined.

"Shippou's son?" She asked, her voice hoarse from crying.

"Yes. I'll tell the story later. For now, are you alright?" He asked. Kagome nodded and he helped her stand. Her knees still felt a bit shaky, but the rest of her body seemed to be fine. She was surprised she didn't bruise anything when she fell to the floor.

"Kagome, I had Hikigaeru leave the book there when he went to go find the talisman. We found you about six weeks ago. Hikigaeru, or Jaken as you might remember him, kept a watch in Tokyo," Kigai began. Kagome took in the information.

"Why were you watching for me?" Kagome asked. Kigai looked hesitant. Kirara came forward and put her hand on Kagome's shoulder.

"Kagome, the stories in that book are true. For the past five hundred years youkai have bordered on extinction. Our last numbers are hidden among the humans. The shikon jewel is still in pieces, only now they reside everywhere in the world. Kagome, we can't fix that now. Some of the shards are buried so deeply that it would require years of searching for them. And there's not enough power behind us to do it anymore," Kirara stated.

"What are you saying?" Kagome asked, her confusion evident. What the hell was Kirara dancing around? What did they need her for?

"Kagome, we need you to go back in time and fix the jewel and Keep Naraku and Inu Yasha from joining forces," Kigai stated simply.

It was anything but simple.

"I can't do this! Are you crazy? Changing the past? No one can do that! And there's no way back! Inu Yasha destroyed the well. I've lost my ticket. I don't have the shards anymore, I don't have any connection to that time!" Kagome shouted at them.

How could they ask this of her? How could they ask her to go back there? And to change the hanyou's mind? Were they all crazy? Kagome felt the pressure of the past seven months begin to build on her. She was just getting back into the swing of life here, and they wanted her to go back and let the life here crumble? They had to be insane. Kirara knew what happened, saw it happen. And she wanted her to go back?

"Kagome, if we could ask anyone else to do it, we would. We can't do it. We're youkai. We can't use the resources at hand and risk becoming tainted," Kirara began.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked. Something to focus on besides the whole going to the past bit. Something to focus on besides Inu Yasha's betrayal.

"Kagome, we have all of the shards that are in Japan, at least we believe so. They are the connection to the past. The well was just one of the paths between the present and past. There are others, some much older than the well, more powerful. We've managed to get youkai and monks who know their purpose to guard them," Kirara told her.

Kagome couldn't deal with it. She couldn't absorb this information. There was a way back? Hope and dread tore her apart and she felt like a razor sharp knife was flaying her insides. Each second that past her heart twisted a little more in the vice of hope and memories that warred over it.

"I can't deal with this right now. I promised my mother that I'd go out with her today. I have to go. Thank you for the insight on the book," Kagome told them woodenly as she walked out of the room.

"Kagome, it was my father's wish that you do this. He died two hundred years ago with a prayer that you would help us. Was his faith misplaced?" Kigai demanded. Kagome stopped and looked at him.

"I have to figure this out in my head. When I do, if I do, I'll come back., But don't follow me again, don't come to my home. Just leave me alone," Kagome told him. She walked out of the house, refusing to acknowledge his words. She wouldn't let him use Shippou to guilt her into doing this. It was impossible anyways!

Kagome pulled her jacket more closely around her as she walked outside and towards the long driveway. There had been a bus stop down the road and she'd be damned if she asked any of them for help right now.

* * *

**Blix: **Ok guys, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to have the next one out in the next few days. Kigai's birth will be explained later, I swear. I'm really trying to make something a little different this time. Maybe it's not a totally original plot, but I'll have weird stuff thrown in there that should make it interesting. Oh, did you know it's all iced over here? It's crazy. I wish it would snow though. We never get snow in Georgia (yes, I sadly live in Georgia again) just ice. Meh, at least it's a good day for writing. Hope you guys have fun reading it. **AND PLEASE REVEIW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Blix:** 17 full pages of writing. And the facts are factual. The enoshima train is real, the prefectures are correct in placement, and the museums are all real. Part of the reason I take so long is because I'm a stickler for details. But I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm trying to take things slowly so the story develops right. And before you question, this is a Sess/Kag fic. I'm just making it complicated.

* * *

**The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere**

**Chapter 3-Before It Breaks You (part one)  
**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inu Yasha or The Wallflowers.It's not fair I tell you.

* * *

Kagome tried to find something else to think about besides the past, besides Kigai, besides Kirara. Everything was so confusing. She didn't want to hope. Hope had caused so much pain and devastation in her life. 

But a part of her wanted it so much.

Hope was a damning thing she concluded. She wanted to try, wanted to save her friends. Wanted to see Shippou. Wanted to destroy Naraku. And Kigai and Kirara had taken what she had given up as a futile dream and given it a spark of life. A small hope that perhaps she could do it.

She didn't know whether to love or hate them for it.

Minutes passed and she just gave up on it and grabbed the book out of her bag and opened it to a random page. And almost cursed herself for landing on Shippou's story. However, she started to read from where her eyes landed, not really sure if she wanted to know the whole story. Scared she'd find out something she didn't want to know.

'_After the death of his human wife, Lord Shippou was forced by politics to marry another prominent member of the western lands to keep his treaty. So he took Kagura, a wind witch that was said to be the right hand of the western lord. In time Kagura became pregnant with the lord's second son. _

'_However, Kagura had once been under the control of Naraku. And during her pregnancy Naraku sought her out to once again control her. _

'_Myth states that she fought for months without ever giving away that she was under any strain, any sort of pain. She stayed strong throughout most of her pregnancy. However, when she went into labor her control slipped and Naraku found a way inside of her mind and began to try to force her to assassinate her husband. _

'_Yet before she could birth the child, she stabbed herself, sparing her husband the fate Naraku had in store.'_

Kagome stopped for a moment and closed the book.

Kagura had proven honor in her last moments of life. Had she loved Shippou? Is that why she killed herself? Or had she done it for honor, or necessity? Why had Shippou really married her? She couldn't imagine Shippou ever marrying for politics. She could see Shippou marrying Rin, see him marrying for love.

And what about the son? It had said she was having Shippou's second son. But she had died before she could give birth. Kagome opened the book back to the page and began to read again.

'_As quickly as he could, Sesshoumaru, who was present for the birth as the guardian who would take the son and foster him, helped take the child from Kagura's womb and give it life.'_

Kagome slammed the book shut. She didn't want to think about how Sesshoumaru had done that. She couldn't think of a feudal c-section, and the idea of removing a child from the womb only brought images of blood and gore to her mind.

Had Sesshoumaru really fostered Kigai in the end? Or had the circumstances of his birth caused things to change?

Kagome let her head fall back against the seat and sighed.

Nothing made any sense in the stories, but they seemed to be true. Unless she really had gone crazy and was imagining everything. A small part of her wished she was. Then everything would be a lot less complicated.

She felt the train shudder to a halt and looked outside. It was her station. Kagome put the book back in her bag and stood up. She had a date with her mother, and she was already running a little late. She just hoped her mother was still waiting for her at the McDonald's up the street.

* * *

The day had gone relatively well. Kagome and her mother had seen a movie, something that was horribly dubbed over from America. They had laughed and poked fun at the actors and actresses. Kagome had eaten with her mother. Now they were sitting over the remains of their meal at the small family owned restaurant. 

"Momma, if you had a chance to change something, make something right, would you do it?" Kagome asked suddenly.

Her mother looked into her coffee, her expression pensive and sad.

"I suppose, if I had the chance, I would. I would have to weigh the pros and cons beforehand, and consider it carefully, but I think in the end, I would," She said after some minutes.

"Mama, I saw some people today. They manipulated me into coming to them. Then told me things, horrible things. Momma, I don't know what to do," Kagome whispered, her voice trembling. For a moment she almost gave into the tears, but she wouldn't cry again, not over this. She had to be strong, or else she'd break under the pressure.

"Sweetie, what happened today? Souta said you promised him you'd get past this, be happy again. He believed you. But today you seem full of, well, confusion. Before you seemed so lifeless, so sad. Now something's so different. What happened in Kamakura?" She demanded of her daughter. Kagome sighed.

"More coffee?" The waitress asked. Kagome and her mother both nodded and kept silent until the woman had left.

"Mama, remember the old man that came looking for a talisman yesterday at the shrine? Well, I found a book while I was helping him in the store room. It wasn't dusty like everything else in there. Well, he left it there. It was someone from the past mama. Someone from _then_. And then today I met a woman on the train, and she began to talk to me. And she told me about Shippou and how he became Lord of the West.

"Mama, his son wrote the book. His son, Kigai, it's too much mama. They want me to go back. To keep bad things from happening. And a part of me wants to mama. There's this part of me that yearns to go back, to fix things, to set things right. But another part of me is saying don't. That I can't change the past, that going back is stupid and to just let go," Kagome told her.

"My dear, you're the only one that can make that decision. If you feel like you should, then, as much as I hate to say it, you must. If not, then don't. But only you can decide," Her mother told her.

"Mama, I can't decide," Kagome told her bluntly.

"My dear, I'll be honest. Would you see something go wrong, knowing you could change it? As scared as I am of losing you, or having you hurt again, I don't think I raised either of my children to let something happen if they could change it. Now tell me Kagome, in your heart of hearts, do you want to go back?" Mrs. Higurashi demanded.

Kagome had never heard her mother speak this way before. Deep inside, she knew her mother was right though. She hadn't been raised to be a coward, to run from a situation. Her mother's intensity surprised her though.

"Mama, how can I do it though? How can I leave you and Souta again? And what about school? Mama, things have gotten better," Kagome began.

"Except you. You've been withering Kagome. And you have the chance to stop it, to change the circumstances. You can change the stories Kagome. No excuses. Don't make me tell you that you have to do this," She said sternly.

Once again Kagome was taken aback by her mother's tone, her words. And once again she knew the truth of her mother's words.

"I'll go back tomorrow mama. I won't leave for then until later, but I'll go back tomorrow and talk to them again," Kagome told her.

"Good dear. I was scared I was going to have to yell at you," Mrs. Higurashi told her daughter.

"You, yell? I can't really imagine it mama," Kagome said with a small smile.

"Well dear, I didn't raise you to run, and I feel like you should go back, no matter how much I want you to stay here. Besides, I have this feeling that if you go back, you'll come back here whole again."

"I don't know mama. I hope so," Kagome told her as she took another sip of her coffee.

That night Kagome was sitting at her desk, flipping through various pages of the book, seeing if anything jumped out at her. It would be nice to know what happened.

However, she couldn't be sure what time she was going to land in. She assumed the feudal era, since that's when Inu Yasha joined Naraku, but what if she landed in a different time? Just because the other portals led to the past didn't mean the same year, or even century.

What would happen if she landed in a different century? She couldn't really do anything to stop Inu Yasha, could she?

"Kagome? Here's some money for the train ride tomorrow. I hope everything works out," Mrs. Higurashi said as she set some money down on the desk.

"Thank you mama. I'm heading out on the early train tomorrow to try and get there early. I'll probably be back late, I don't know yet."

"Okay sweetie. Just give me a call when your on your way home," Mrs. Higurashi told her with a fond smile. Kagome smiled back and then let her head fall back onto her chair.

"I guess school's out tomorrow. I haven't even gone to the past and already I'm screwing school up. Joy," Kagome thought sourly.

* * *

She hadn't thought of what she was doing when she woke up at four thirty in the morning and caught the five train. It hadn't really crossed her mind that the entire house would be asleep. Then again she hadn't thought she would make it to the house itself by six fifteen either. 

Now that she was standing at the front door she was scared to ring the doorbell, afraid she might wake someone up. After her exit yesterday she wasn't sure she should have come back so soon. After all, most people needed time to cool down.

"Oh well, worth a shot," She told herself as she knocked gently on the door. The doorbell could definitely wake someone up. If people were awake they'd hear the knocking. Hopefully.

No answer.

Another gentle tapping.

"Hold on!" A male voice called through the door. Kagome watched, wide eyed, as a slightly mussed Kigai opened the door, his shirt open and his eyes sleepy. Kagome noticed a strange scar on his chest, leading up to his left shoulder and seemingly curling around to his back. It looked like a burn, but it was so strangely shaped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Kagome began.

"Kagome? I didn't think you'd come back!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening. Kagome smiled faintly, embarrassed. "It's good though. But why so early? Shouldn't you still be asleep?" He asked as he stepped aside, an invitation for her to come in.

"I need as long as possible to learn as much as possible today. My mom and I talked, and well, I guess there's not really any other choice. I have to go to the past," Kagome told him. Kigai smiled and closed the door, shivering slightly. Kagome couldn't help but notice his toned stomach and quickly berated herself for such thoughts. This was Shippou's son! And he was definitely too old for her. Like, three hundred years too old for her, give or take a few decades.

'_And it's definitely not the time for something like that,'_ She shouted at herself mentally, adding a kick for good measure.

"Would you like some coffee?" Kigai asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yes please," Kagome said politely. She wasn't exactly sure of her welcome after her episode yesterday. She watched as he began to put water in the coffee maker and then fill the filter with fresh grounds.

"No need for formalities Kagome. Kirara told me what to expect when I started the plan, even Jaken said you wouldn't react well. But time is of the essence. I'm sorry if I pushed you too hard yesterday, if I forced too much at once, but I know that the sooner you get back, the better," Kigai told her as he flipped the coffee machine on.

"I still shouldn't have reacted so badly," Kagome started.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me," He told her with a smile. Kagome was immediately disarmed by his smile and tone.

"Deal," She said with a smile.

"You can sit down," He offered. Kagome moved to the kitchen table and removed her jacket, putting it on the back of the chair. After sitting down she watched Kigai move through the kitchen gracefully and take two mugs from a cabinet. Several minutes later he placed a mug in front of her and the bowl of sugar and a container of powdered creamer. He began to chatter as she mixed in some creamer.

"Father used to tell me stories about you. About how you would sit Inu Yasha and slap Miroku. He always spoke very fondly of you. He always wished he could come to your time and find you. He didn't give up searching, hoping every day that you were finally being born," Kigai told her. Kagome sighed and set her coffee mug down.

"I've missed him so much for the past seven months. I've missed them all. It doesn't seem fair that he died before I could see him again," Kagome whispered sadly.

"Youkai live long lives, longer if they're not prominent. Father was killed in 1803, although his assassin was never found. We just found him between Rin and Kagura's graves," Kigai told her.

"I'm sorry," Kagome told him, trying to convey her grief. Shippou had been murdered, and his killer had never been caught. Could she prevent that somehow?

"It was a long time ago. We buried him there, between his two wives. He never took another after my mother. Sometimes I think he was scared of any more women dying because he took them as mates," Kigai told her.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"Rin was killed when my brother was still a kit. It was for political reasons. My father never could understand politics. He never wanted the title. It was just given to him, and he tried to use it for the best. But it kept him from doing so many things, it made him, his mates, and my brother and I targets for so many plots. In the end I think my father would have hermited himself if he could have, like Sesshoumaru did. But my father was never one to hide. I don't know why," Kigai said with a sad smile.

"He was a good kit when I knew him," Kagome told the youkai sitting in front of her. Kigai smiled gratefully.

"You'll see him again, don't worry," Kigai told her with a smile.

"What about your brother?" Kagome asked, trying to change the tone of their conversation.

"He lives near here, he's doing his duty, concealing the youkai. It's gotten to the point where some don't even know they're youkai. It's frightening to realize my race is losing itself and some of it's not even aware," Kigai told her with a sigh.

So much for trying to lighten the conversation.

"How can youkai not realize they're youkai?" Kagome asked.

"It's simple. It all starts with one orphan born under the illusion. I suppose it's not necessarily youkai, mostly hanyou. But so many children have been born under the illusion. Every day another hanyou is born not knowing what it is. Some parents don't even know. Their spouse of lover may not tell them. It's frighteningly easy even though it sounds so complicated," He stated.

"You've put some thought into this haven't you?" Kagome asked.

"I've had to. Izou has been busy trying to keep up the glamour and locate shikon shards and keep the more rebellious youkai under control," Kigai sighed.

"Rebellious youkai?" Kagome asked.

"Some that don't want to be glamoured. They feel as if the existence of the youkai and hanyou should be made known. However it's not the time. If we try scientists of this age will try to exploit us. Think of what the military might do," He said with a shudder.

Kagome could see his point. If the existence of youkai were made known, they could be made into lab rats or forced to become weapons in the military. Worse things could happen though. Kagome was terrified by the thought of humans cornering youkai, who would be able to do nothing except fight. No good could come of it.

"I know that youkai will still have to hide if you change the past. I just hope that maybe more of us could survive Naraku and Inu Yasha," Kigai said wistfully.

"Did they really do that much damage?" Kagome asked carefully.

"We estimate they absorbed about seventy percent of the youkai in the feudal era," Kigai told her bluntly.

Kagome was floored. The Inu Yasha she had known had wanted to be strong. But he had been trying to get his strength by growing when she had been forced back to her own time. How did he change? More importantly, why?

"What all did Shippou tell you about Inu Yasha?" Kagome asked delicately.

"That once he was a good soul. Good enough for you to fall in love with," Kigai told her. Kagome was shocked into silence.

"That was rude of me. It's just hard to talk about sometimes," Kigai told her.

"I'm sorry," Kagome told him again. She couldn't think of anything else to say. Kigai had been through so much pain, and was due for more if things continued as they had been for the last few centuries.

"It's not your fault. It's just hard in general. I know what you felt for Inu Yasha, my father used to describe it sometimes, how dedicated you were to the hanyou. I don't like disillusioning people, especially not good people," Kigai sighed.

"Inu Yasha did that for himself. Nothing you can say will surprise me," Kagome told him.

"Oh, I think you're wrong," A voice said from the doorway. Kagome looked at Kirara, who was still wearing her red flannel pajamas. By the state of her long, mussed hair Kagome guessed that she had just woken up and come downstairs to see who was talking.

"Inu Yasha did a lot that surprised us all Kagome. Shippou was about seventeen when Inu Yasha finally left, he was disillusioned and hurt. I lied about who took him. I was too scared of saying too much. He went to Sango, and we taught him everything. By that time I had learned how to take a more human form, and I fostered him. He was so powerful. Somehow he had changed so much. I think that losing his parents, losing you, and then finally losing Inu Yasha caused him to shut off his heart, his emotions, for some time.

"I'll always remember how distrusting he was at first. And then over time he started to trust us again. Kagome, the things Inu Yasha did in pursuit of the jewel, the things Shippou saw, not all youkai are suited to bloodshed, some aren't made for it," Kirara whispered sadly.

"Kirara, what did he do?" Kagome asked, her voice trembling. She knew he joined Naraku, fought other demons so Naraku could absorb them. But Kirara wouldn't seem ready to cry because of that. Couldn't be. What did Shippou see that had Kirara ready to crack.

"Kagome, Inu Yasha couldn't sense shards after you were gone. He just killed whoever was rumored to have them," Kirara said brokenly.

No.

She wouldn't accept it. It couldn't be true! Inu Yasha wouldn't just blindly kill anyone! She had seen him show mercy to youkai and humans. He had some form of humanity the day she left. It couldn't have disappeared so completely!

"Kagome, he did so many horrible things. Once, when I asked father what had happened, when I asked him why he hated Inu Yasha so much, he told me. I spent that night drunk. So did my father. Turns out he and my brother once did the same thing, just a few years before that. I still can't believe my father survived it. But he did, for several years. He didn't even understand why Inu Yasha spared him," Kigai told her.

"The funny thing was, Shippou had three shards the whole time."

"What?" Kagome gasped, shocked.

"He found them, but was so scared of giving them to Inu Yasha, or even admitting he had them. He was terrified of becoming a target. He kept those shards close to him for the rest of his life. They are the ones we have, along with a couple of others we found through time," Kirara finished.

"How can I stop this? Even if I go back, what will it change?" Kagome asked.

"Everything. You may not travel with Inu Yasha, but you will travel with a strong youkai. And you will find the jewel shards, destroy Naraku, and save my race," Kigai told her.

"What can I do? I'm human," Kagome stated, overwhelmed by their expectations.

"You're so much more than that Kagome. You're a miko of unprecedented power. You have this amazing strength, and power that you can't begin to comprehend," Kigai said with a conviction that surprised Kagome.

"But who would help me back then? Inu Yasha was one of the few demons that didn't seem to be obsessed about using the jewel for his own purposes. Well, I thought so. Who could I trust that would help?" Kagome asked.

And then she noticed the uneasy stare that Kirara and Kigai shared. It looked like they were trying to decide who would break some very, very bad news.

"Well," Kigai started.

"Kagome, before you reject the idea you have to remember that we have thought about this for quite some time," Kirara added.

"Sesshoumaru," Kigai finished.

Kagome didn't even respond. They couldn't be serious. It HAD to be a joke. Sesshoumaru? He wouldn't help her, and she certainly couldn't trust him. What game were they playing at? Sesshoumaru? No way. They were joking. Yup. That's it. Any second they'd smile and say a much nicer youkai's name.

"Kagome, we've put a lot of thought into this, and it makes sense. We've put a plan together that would help you persuade him, to believe what you're saying," Kigai told her.

Or not.

"What could I do that could possibly persuade him! Do you remember how he was? Let me remind you. He hates humans. Period. He definitely hates me, I mean, there can be no doubt about that. There's no persuading Sesshoumaru, he'll do whatever he wants. And he'd probably kill me before I had a chance to say whatever it is that would persuade him!" Kagome practically shrieked.

"Not if you have the sword," Kigai blurted. Kagome shut up and narrowed her eyes at the youkai.

"What sword?" She asked in a flat voice. A sword? How would a sword prevent Sesshoumaru from killing her? He would probably see it and at best be reminded of how he lost the Tessaiga because of her; at worst think she was threatening him. None of the options seemed to end well.

"His sword," Kigai stated simply, but triumphantly. He saw the interest in Kagome's eyes and knew it would work.

"And how would this keep him for murdering me?"

"Because he'll recognize it, recognize it's supposed to on his hip, and then realize, after he checks, that it is. Trust me, it's very easily recognized," Kigai told her simply.

"He'll think I stole it, or it's a fake, and kill me Kigai," Kagome stated.

"No he won't, trust me. Sesshoumaru always had a very keen nose. He'll smell the difference," Kigai responded.

Kagome felt like pulling her hair out. They wanted her to basically commit suicide, their only assurance that she wouldn't die being Sesshoumaru's sense of smell?

"You're both out of your minds," Kagome told them flatly.

"No, Kagome I don't think you realize what we're saying," Kirara started.

"I realize exactly what you're saying. And it won't work. Sesshoumaru doesn't even have any interest in the shards. And he hates humans. Me especially. You think a sword is going to make a difference?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome, it's Tenseiga. And it's different now Kagome. We don't know how he changed it, he would never tell us, but it's different. He'll know it's Tenseiga, but he'll know it's different. Come on Kagome, out of all the people to travel with, Sesshoumaru is the best choice," Kirara told her, kneeling next to the young woman. Kagome sighed.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked, finally giving in to the inevitable.

"We're sure Kagome," Kirara told her.

"I wonder what god I pissed off in a past life," Kagome sighed, picking her coffee up and taking a sip, then cringing in distaste. It had gone cold as she had tried to prove her point.

"Here, I'll get you some more," Kirara told her, taking the mug and busying herself around the kitchen. "I'll make some eggs too," She said as she poured some more coffee and handed it to Kagome.

"That would be nice. Kirara, call us when you're done making breakfast. I'm taking Kagome to the old house," Kigai told the youkai. Kirara nodded as Kagome finished mixing in sugar and creamer.

"What?" Kagome asked as Kigai took her hand and began to lead her out of the kitchen.

"There's some things you need to see," Kigai told her. Kagome cursed as she spilled some coffee on her hand as he dragged her along. He took her through a hall and out of another door, into the cold. Kagome shuddered involuntarily as the ocean air chilled her skin.

They walked through a small garden and Kigai opened the gate and led her through. Kagome stared at the small house that stood by itself on a small plot of land that had been allowed to grow wild, but only until it reached the house itself. It seemed to grow back on itself instead of over the wood.

"It was father's retreat after my mother died. He used to come here when he needed to think, be on his own," Kigai told her. Kagome nodded as he walked to the door and slid it open.

Kagome immediately smelled the age sweeping out of the house. The inside was dark as Kigai walked in, still holding her hand. He closed the door behind them, leaving them in darkness. A whisper of noise and a small flame danced in his empty palm, lighting the area around them, throwing the room in flickering shadows. He let go of her hand and she watched as his form moved towards one end of the room, the fire in his palm sometimes showing a random object, sometimes giving his face an almost evil leer.

And then he picked up a small lantern and it almost looked like the flame slipped from his hand and into the lantern, lighting a wick for what she now saw was an oil lamp. It gave the room more light, but he wasn't done yet. She watched as he walked around the room and lit three more lamps that way, each giving the room more and more light.

By the time he was done, Kagome was looking around a simple room with few adornments. Thee portrait scrolls hung fro the walls, looking aged and fragile, the silk seemingly ready to fall apart. She set the mug of coffee down on a small table, covered in dust, and looked closely at the walls.

One she didn't recognize. The one next to it looked very much like Kagura, even her fan was in her hands. Only she seemed almost happy. Kagome couldn't imagine how it happened, but she was thankful.

The last however, drew her closer. She didn't believe what she was seeing. Couldn't understand the detail of the brush strokes on the silk.

"He had it painted soon after he became 'Lord Shippou', he always told me. One of the first youkai to ask his help was a painter, and so he had you painted, from memory. I was never able to ask the painter if it was true, but he said that he made the painter make over a thousand different sketches before he was satisfied with the face. Another hundred for the school uniform. And the painter had to repaint a dozen times to get your eyes and smile right," Kigai said with a small smile.

Kagome felt tears gathering. It was a perfect likeness of her, before she had left. It showed her with her bow and arrow. Every detail was correct. Shippou had carried that memory of her for years.

"How did he remember? Why?" Kagome asked.

"Because to him you were the epitome of strength, of purity. To my father you were an ideal, something that proved that our worlds could live in harmony. Well, he said that once. Told me harmony might not be the right word, but that we could all live together in relative peace," Kigai chuckled.

"He must have remembered Inu Yasha and me fighting," Kagome said with a smile. "Who is the first one of?" She asked, moving her eyes away from her portrait.

"It's Rin. Father loved her very much," Kigai told her with a slight trace of bitterness in his voice. Kagome couldn't help but wonder at it. What had happened to make him bitter?

"Come with me," He said, picking up one of the lamps and taking her hand. He slid open another door and led her through a small hallways to a room near the end of the house. He slid open another door and guided her in. Kagome waited patiently as he lit another lamp.

The room was small, and the rising sun through the window helped light what the lamps wouldn't.

Three swords lay on a display rack of polished black wood. One she easily recognized as Tessaiga, the other two she figured probably were the ones Sesshoumaru once carried at his side.

"One Is Tokijin. It's a broken sword, and no longer holds the youki it did. However, Tenseiga, it still holds it's youki. It's dormant, but there, still sleeping," Kigai told her.

"And he won't kill me if I have it?" Kagome asked. Kigai nodded.

"Kagome, we'd have to get you to Saga to get you through the portal. There's a guardian there, but Kagome, you do realize you won't be able to come back often. I'll be there to meet you at agreed times, but Kagome, you must know that this will affect your life here," He started. Kagome let out a sarcastic life.

"No, I don't have any idea about how much this is going to affect my life here Kigai, none whatsoever," She told him angrily.

"Okay, that was stupid. But it will probably be different from before Kagome. You won't be able to see your mother, your brother. And there's a catch about this portal. You can only use it one night of the month. When the moon forms a perfect crescent, during it's waxing," He told her.

"Why?" Kagome asked, curious.

"We think it might be linked to Sesshoumaru's mother's line. She was a daiyoukai. His father, well, he was as well, but landless. The lands were his mother's. Her family crest, the waxing crescent on her forehead, we don't know, but we think it might be linked," Kigai told her.

"How do you know it only works on that day?" Kagome asked.

"Night. And because of Jaken. He told us the secrets. It's something he's carried for centuries. He never told father, never told Sesshoumaru even. Sometimes I want to ask him how he knows, but I get the feeling it's better left unasked," Kigai told her.

"So, this might not actually work?" Kagome asked.

"I trust Jaken."

Kagome didn't even bother to reply to those words, didn't bother to tell him about Jaken's past. She was sure he knew. Instead, she walked to the swords and knelt in front of them, looking at Tenseiga, then Tokijin, and finally Tessaiga. Gently she took the sword from the rack and set it down on her lap.

The fang carried signs of wear and tear. It looked battered, more battered than when she had last seen it. There was a slight crack in the sheath.

"How did you get this?" She asked.

"Sesshoumaru, once Inu Yasha and Naraku destroyed themselves, Sesshoumaru found it. No one would touch it. There's still something in there. At that point, even Sesshoumaru wouldn't have anything of it. Whatever's there, it's not their father," Kigai stated.

"Do you think it's Inu Yasha?" Kagome asked.

"No one knows for sure. We've thought about it, asked several of the holy men helping us if they could try and see what it was. They refused, only one helping us. He told us to lock it away and never let it be drawn. When I asked him what he felt, he told me he felt rage, sorrow, and heard a sort of primal scream, something purely bestial," Kigai told her.

"It's probably him," Kagome said.

"Or them," He told her, taking it from her and setting it back on the rack. Kagome sighed and accepted Kigai's hand to help her stand.

"So when's the next night I can go through the portal?" Kagome asked.

"Four days," He told her. "We need one day to get you there, so you have three left."

"And I still have a lot to learn before going back, don't I?" Kagome asked.

"I've written more for you to read there, to help you, but yes, you do have a lot to learn, a lot to memorize before you go back. Certain events must not happen, or the outcomes must be changed," Kigai told her. "But you can read them there. You can spend the next few days with your family," Kigai told her. Kagome nodded and sighed again.

"I'm never going to have a normal life am I?" She asked.

"Probably not. You know we exist, you know time travel exists. There is no going abck to normal," He told her.

"This sucks. I go from being the sickest girl ever, to the smartest girl ever, and now I'm going back to being, I don't know. Is it so bad to want a life? I mean, besides a failed date with Hojo, and the fiasco with Inu Yasha, I've never even had a boyfriend!" Kagome whined. "And now I'm probably going to fail school, get killed, and shame my entire family. No matter what I do I suck at life."

"No you won't. My father told me about you. You're strong Kagome. And amazing. You have so much you can do, and you think that you're a failure? Kagome, it took amazing strength to come here the first time. It took courage to come and face me, to look for the truth. It took even more strength to come here a second time, knowing you were going to say yes, you'd help us. Kagome you don't have to do this. My race could stay the way it is. Inu Yasha's history, his choices, could stay the same, and our world would still go round. Your world would still go round. But you're doing it," Kigai told her. "And that commands enormous respect."

"It just sucks. It seems like I can never be a normal teenager, whether I can go to the past or not," Kagome told him.

"I still think you're a normal teenager," Kigai said playfully. Kagome laughed.

"You're a youkai. A normal teenager for you is, I don't know, probably blowing stuff up on accident, or ripping the fridge door off or something," Kagome joked.

"Actually, when I was a teenager, I did blow up the storehouse on accident. I had a moment of, uh, extreme emotion and because of my parents powers both combining it had a sort of odd effect," He said with a smile. "And that is Kirara calling, breakfast is ready," He finished as he took her hand and led her out of the room. The lamps magically extinguished themselves as they walked out of the house and back into the cold.

Kagome paused for a moment, staring at the beach the rising sun revealed. She saw the oceans creating and breaking over the rocks below and smiled.

"Someday I'll take you to the cove and show you the sunrise there," He told her. Kagome nodded and they continued on into the main house.

"Took you two long enough," Kirara said with a smile as Kagome and Kigai sat down at the table.

"I was flattering her mercilessly," Kigai said with a smile.

"Be careful Kagome. Kigai's got a penchant for pretty girls like you," Kirara said with a smile. Kigai had the grace to blush.

"Not all pretty girls like her," He said with a secretive smile. Kagome rolled her eyes and accepted the plate that had a rolled omelet and stuffed, grilled tofu. Kagome uttered a small thank you and dug in gratefully.

"At least she can eat," Kirara said with a laugh. "Eat all of that tofu, it's got green onions and garlic in it, it'll keep you from getting a cold," Kirara said.

"Don't mind her. She's been mothering everyone since my father came to her," Kigai said in a mock whisper.

"Kigai don't you start this early. I'll throw you in the water," Kirara said as she handed the youkai a plate. "And I know I can still do it before you even think it," She added as she grabbed her plate off of the counter and sat down at the table with them.

"I'm sure you can," He said in a condescending tone. Kirara just poked him with a chopstick and continued eating.

"So did she see the pictures?" Kirara asked.

"Yes. She didn't recognize Rin though," Kigai said.

"It doesn't surprise me. Rin changed quite a bit. She also stopped referring to herself in the third person. Yes, she was sought after by any youkai that were willing to overcome the fact that she was a human, but she loved Shippou very much, and he loved her just as much," Kirara said with a smile.

Kagome noticed Kigai's jaw tightening slightly and just stared at her plate as an almost uncomfortable silence ensued.

Why was Kigai so bitter about Rin?

Minutes later Kirara grabbed her plate and Kagome's and went to the sink and left them there.

"I'm going to Saga. Jaken's already there waiting for me I suppose. I'll go grab Kouin and we'll be off," Kirara said. "I'll see you in a few days Kagome," She finished with a smile.

"Kouin? What's he got to do with this?" Kagome asked Kigai after Kirara had left the room.

"Kouin is Miroku and Sango's descendant. He's the one that will open the gate. He'll be there to keep it open," Kigai explained as he finished his omlette.

"I see. No wonder he seemed familiar. So, I have nothing to do for the rest of the day. Mama's at work and SOuta is at school, and grandpa is manning the shrine. What do you want to do?" Kagome asked. Kigai smiled.

"Well, earlier you were talking about how nothing's normal in your life. How about something normal?" Kigai asked.

"Like what?"

"Well, there's walks on the beach, but it is a bit too cold for that," He began, smiling when Kagome chuckled. "Then there's the amusement park, still a bit cold for that though. There's the movies, which are indoors, although we'd have to wait for them to open which is around noon. I think you've had enough of history to last you a lifetime, so the museum is out. Besides," He added, "I am notorious for correcting the exhibit information and I'm technically banned at the National Museum of History, the Edo Tokyo Hakubutsukan, the Asuka Historical Museum, Miyajima Historical and Folklore Materials House, and the Hiroshima Museum of History," He said as he ticked them off on his fingers.

"That's almost all of them!" Kagome exclaimed, laughing. How could this seemingly sensible man in front of her be banned at so many museums?

"Almost? Then I think I forgot a couple," He said, looking thoughtful. "Oh! The National Museum of Ethnology and the Niigata Museum of History," He finished.

"You're joking right?" Kagome asked.

"Not one bit," He said with a smile.

"What did you do?" Kagome demanded. "And what do you mean 'technically banned'?"

"Well, like I said, I have a problem with correcting things. You know, a placecard here, a tour guide there, a curator every now and then," He teased.

"Seriously," She told him.

"I swear on all that's holy in southeast Asia that I am telling the truth!" He told her in an exaggerated fashion. "The technicality comes in when I change forms. Technically I'm banned, but I can go in with different faces. Although on occasion it's always nice to stop by when I'm in the neighborhood in my normal face and see the looks on their faces. It always seems like they're having a stroke," He told her, grinning.

"You are insane," She told him.

"No, just right and stubborn enough to say it."

"Males always think they're right," Kagome joked.

"But I'm the one that is," He shot back. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"So what are we doing today?" Kagome asked.

"How about the art museum here? It's nearby and it's not the biggest but it is still impressive," He suggested. Kagome lit up.

"That would be amazing. I love art but I've always been too busy to go to the museums," She told him. He smiled and walked to the counter for another cup of coffee.

"Would you like some more coffee?" He asked.

"I left my mug in the other house," Kagome began. He merely grabbed another mug and poured some into it, quickly filling his as well. Kagome admired his grace as he walked back to the table and sat down comfortably. And then once again berated herself for her thoughts.

"The museum opens at nine thirty. Would you like to hear some stories about father and Kirara until then?" He asked, checking the watch on his rest. Kagome nodded happily and settled into the chair, ready to hear more about the friends she had left behind in time.

* * *

**Blix: **There's probably going to be a second part to this chapter. I'm really not done(once again) but I wanted to get it out today. I'm going to try start doing weekly installments on Friday nights, so expect the next chapter then and then once a week from there. Toodles guys. And please review! I love getting them in my mailbox! 


	4. Chapter 4

Betcha all thought I was dead didn't you?

No, just locked in a hell where my now ex basically told me all of my writing was shiat and time wasting, but especially fanfics since they aren't 'real writing'. Now that I've completely obliterated all signs of him from my life and mind, I'm back with sincere apologies. Forgive me for being a moron?

I really will be working diligently on this story. As well as the other ones, but this is my focus and my baby at the moment. Once again, please forgive me for my long absence.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters or show Inu Yasha, but Tachi, Kouin, Kigai and Izou are my creations. I do not own The Wallflowers or their lyrics. Boo on that. Reality can suck sometimes.

**The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere**

**Chapter 4- From Inside**

* * *

Kagome walked through the museum shop and browsing. Kigai had told her to find something, a souvenir for today. Kagome was trying to find something relatively cheap, not wanting to take even more money from him considering he had already paid for her ticket and was talking about seeing a movie and lunch, all of which he was paying for.

It had been a wonderful morning so far. They had walked through the museum and admired the art, both old and new. Kigai had amazing introspect about some pictures, and some knowledge about some of the painters. He had told her four different artists were all the same demon under a different name. It made her wonder how the demon went unnoticed over time. But she suspected that when the average life expectancy was seventy or eighty, living to seven hundred and something meant having to change your name in order to seem more normal.

And despite Kigai being a youkai, it had been a totally normal day. In fact, it felt kind of like a date. Kagome had noticed some girls her age staring at her and Kigai and whispering. And she knew the looks Kigai was getting, from young and older women. He was beautiful.

'_How do I always end up with really beautiful men by my side and they're never mine?'_ Kagome bemoaned inwardly as she glanced over an art book. It was Yamaguchi Katsuhiro's art. She loved how he used art to show a post war Japan. She opened it up and moved through the pages slowly, taking in the photographs of his art. It even had a picture of her favorite piece, his light sculpture, Relation of C. She traced her finger along the lines of light lovingly. Something about it always intrigued her.

"Is that what you want?" Kigai's voice said from behind her. Kagome jumped a little and turned around to find that he was only two inches away from her, or at least it felt like it. Actually, it felt like less. And he was smiling down at her.

"Oh no, it's okay. I was just looking," Kagome stuttered and turned to put the book back on it's display.

"Give me a break. You like that book, and I'm betting you don't have it at home," He told her as she turned back around.

"It's okay," Kagome started again. Sure, all the males that she ended up next to may have been beautiful, but they were all stubborn too! She really wondered if it was worth the hassle. Then she remembered Hojo and remembered she'd rather be talking to a stubborn male than a 'helpful' doormat.

"Why don't you want it?" He suddenly asked.

"I do,' Kagome began.

"Then I'll get it for you," He said as he reached and plucked the book from the display behind her.

"No Kigai, it's too expensive!" Kagome finally told him. Kigai looked at her in disbelief, then smiled and sighed.

"Is that the only reason? I figured. Kagome, think about how long I've lived, about who my father was. The only reason my brother and I didn't get cars on our birthdays was because they didn't exist back then," He joked with her. Kagome sighed and gave in, accepting that he was going to buy the book for her.

"I still feel badly," She told him as he smiled down at her.

"Don't. I know you're not after me for my money," He joked. "After all, who needs money when I am an all powerful you-" Kagome cut off his somewhat loud proclamation with her hand, clapping it over his mouth before he could finish the statement and attract anymore undue attention.

"Are you crazy?" She hissed. She felt his smile from behind her hand, saw it sparkling in his emerald eyes. And then he nodded. Kagome gave an exasperated sigh and removed her hand, rolling her eyes as he continued chuckling.

They walked towards the counter and Kigai handed the book to the cashier. Kagome eyed everything on the walls and sighed. She wanted to come back for the exhibition in a couple of months, Alberto Giacometti's work was being displayed and she was interested.

But she had no idea what would be going on in two months. Where she would be. From the sounds of it she might be trapped in the feudal age for months at a time. She couldn't really see Sesshoumaru trying to get her to the portal every month. It would be inconvenient at best, infuriating at worst.

Maybe she'd be able to get everything done faster if she wasn't going back and forth so much. It certainly was incentive though, to get done as quickly as she could.

"Here ya go," Kigai told her with a smile as he handed her the bag that had her book in it. Kagome smiled and nodded thankfully.

"Thank you Kigai-san," She told him.

"Once again, no need to be so formal Kagome-chan," He told her as they walked out of the shop and towards the museum exit. Kagome blushed when he threw his arm casually around her shoulders and smiled. She knew he was only being friendly. After all, he was decimating the life she had built for herself in the past seven months. He had to be nice.

"Sure Kigai," Kagome told him.

"The movies should be open by the time we get there," He told her. "Anything you're interested in seeing?"

"Mom and I already went to see that American film the other day. How about," Kagome pondered for a moment, then smiled slyly. "How about Rainbow Song?" She asked, naming the biggest chick flick in theaters.

She watched as Kigai turned an interesting shade of red and tried to come up with a good answer.

'_Ha, I was right. No guy like that would be caught dead in a chick flick. Hmph. The least I can do for all the trouble I'm going to be going through is make him a bit uncomfortable.' _

"Well, if that's what you want to see. But I'll make you a deal. You have to come watch Yureru with me after that," He told her. Kagome sighed and nodded.

"Deal," She told him.

The movies had been good. Kagome sighed happily as she and Kigai walked towards the restaurant, joking like normal people. She appreciated what he was doing for her, making her feel like there was some semblance of normalcy in her life.

"So Kagome, how has your day been so far?" Kigai asked her as they walked out of the movie house. Night had set in and Kagome looked up at the sky. Stars were twinkling down at her and she sighed contentedly.

"It's been amazing. I can't remember the last time I just took a day out to be normal," Kagome told him as they walked towards his car.

"How about I give you a ride back home. We can pick up some food and get you to sleep. You've got to be tired," Kigai told her. Kagome nodded and smiled as he held the car door open for her.

The silence passed as they drove from the movie house towards Tokyo. It took even longer by car than by public transport. The radio took over for awhile and Kagome leaned back.

"You know, I didn't really learn anything about the past today," Kagome said eventually, watching the passing lights.

"You probably don't need to know much, just key events. You just have to collect the jewel, keep Naraku from getting it, and if possible keep Inu Yasha from Naraku. It'd be even better to try and convince him to be good again, but I don't know if you'll have much luck with that," Kigai sighed.

"I know. I just feel so, I dunno, unprepared I guess," Kagome told him.

"That's what life is all about, I've come to believe anyways," He told her with a smile.

"What have you done for the past couple of centuries anyway? I mean, you can't have pretended to be an old man forever, have you?" Kagome asked.

"Actually, for awhile I was a soldier for Sesshoumaru, and I rose in his armies. I was sent to Sesshoumaru when I was still about fourteen I think. It was good for me," Kigai told her. Kagome however, could only gape at him.

"You were sent to live with Sesshoumaru when you were fourteen?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. It was long after I should have been fostered out. After all, all three members of my family living in the same home was a high temptation. And besides, second sons like me become soldiers. First sons inherit and second sons defend," Kigai told her.

"And you aren't mad about it?" Kagome asked.

"Not really. I've seen the weight my brother's responsibility brings him. I like being the second son. I don't have to chain myself to my title for the rest of my days," He replied. Kagome nodded, seeing his point.

They drove on in silence, passing through the tunnels and over surprisingly traffic free roadways.

"So what was the extreme emotion that caused you to blow up the storehouse?" Kagome asked after awhile, the silence getting to her.

"I was jealous, or angry, I don't know." His voice was slightly strained, as if he was still searching for the reason why. It was a tone that suggested a change of topic, but Kagome wanted to know what she was dealing with where Kigai was concerned.

"About what?"

"My father loved Rin very, very much. More than he ever loved my mother. I know it's unusual for youkai to love anyone, or for people in an arranged match to love one another, but one day I asked Sesshoumaru about it and he answered that my father had loved my mother, but not at all like he had loved Rin. It caused something in me to break. My mother gave her life so that he could keep living, she almost gave my life so that he could keep living. And he couldn't love her like he loved the little human who died running away."

"Maybe he was scared to let himself love her more. No one likes getting hurt Kigai, and they tend to save themselves from it if they can, at least after learning what loss is anyway. Don't blame your father."

"That's just it, he wasn't scared of loss. He just loved Rin so much more."

Kagome sighed, unsure of how to deal with a centuries old grudge against someone she loved. Silence reigned as they took various turns. Kagome started when she realized he was expertly making his way to her home without asking for directions.

"You guys really have been watching me forever, haven't you?" Kagome asked quietly.

"I told you we had to. Unfortunately, we knew you came from a shrine. We were too moronic to realize the shrine near the Goshinboku was the one we were looking for. My father never mentioned it, and Kirara never really knew. No one except Inu Yasha knew the exact location of your home, and as you know, asking him was impossible. Although if we had been smarter we could have made the connection so much sooner," Kigai told her.

"It's alright. You didn't know. Anyway, I'm not sure if I could have handled this much when it first happened."

"What exactly did happen?" Kigai asked, his voice curious but respectful, as if understanding he might not get an answer.

He didn't.

"I don't want to talk about it," Kagome said finally. She was sure if she thought about that day, she would never go back. She would just crawl into her bed and ignore whatever had happened and just let the youkai race cease existing. And she couldn't let that happen, she couldn't do that to Shippou or Kirara of Kigai. She couldn't just ignore their need.

And a small part of her admitted she needed this too, even if it was a suicide mission.

The silence resumed as they drove along the streets. Kigai eventually parked on the street in front of the shrine steps and sighed. Kagome looked straight ahead, scared he was going to tell her some other piece of bad news. After all, he wanted her to join Sesshoumaru, change the past and potentially save all youkai-kind. With Sesshoumaru.

"We went from a wonderful day to not speaking at all, and I would prefer it wasn't this way," He told her as he leaned his head back against the headrest of his seat. Kagome looked over at him and smiled gently.

"I'm sorry," They both said at the same time, and laughed. Kagome began to take her seatbelt off, wondering what would be for dinner.

"Kagome?"

"Hnn?"

"Well, I don't want to be rude, but, well, Kirara's gone and Jaken has left as well, and I was wondering if I could have dinner with your family?" Kigai asked in one rushed breath. For a moment Kagome saw an awkward, young youkai, despite his seemingly ancient age. She wondered how he had managed to stay shy after training with Sesshoumaru and living for centuries.

"Sure Kigai. Mom would love company," Kagome assured him, even as she was wondering if her mom would actually be okay with a late addition to dinner.

"Hello young man! How are you? Are you a friend of Kagome's from school? How did you two meet? You look a bit older, are you sure you go to school with Kagome?"

Kagome's mother had taken one look at the two and come to some swift conclusions, then decided to bombard them with questions. Kagome was mortified and looked up to Kigai's face, then let out a slight chuckle of emberassment.

_'Bet Sesshoumaru didn't train him for this,'_ Kagome cackled evilly in her head. And she couldn't help but laugh out loud as Kigai's expression went from slightly confused to almost frightened as her mother got closer and closer to him, face to face as she examined him.

_"How did you get you hair this color? Why would dye such beautiful long hair? Are you in a gang? Did your parents approve of piercing your ear?_" The questions filtered through Kagome's thoughts and she came out of her reverie.

"Mom, enough. He's not a friend from school. He's the one who wrote the book and is asking me to go back in time," Kagome finished.

"Oh. Oh, then I suppose that means he's a..." Her mother trailed off.

"Yes, mom. He's a youkai." Kagome had to giggle a bit at her mother's suddenly pale face.

"Another youkai! Cool!" A voice shouted just as another screamed "Demon Begone!"

Above the yelling and the restraining, no one noticed the smell of smoke coming from the kitchen until it was pouring out in thicks clouds.

* * *

"It's quite alright. I assure you, since this is my fault, I have no problem paying for takeout. Order whatever you want, and we can talk while we wait," Kigai assured Mrs. Higurashi. The smell of smoke still hung in the house as the night air tried to filter it out through open windows and vents. Kagome wanted to throttle her grandfather and was refusing to speak to both him and Souta, who hadn't quite stopped nagging Kigai to see his powers.

"Only if you're sure," She returned slowly. Kagome sighed. This guy was paying for everything today!

"Just who are you?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as they finally settled down.

"I am Kigai, Shippou's son. I am the one who wrote the book to lure Kagome to my home and plead my case to her."

Kagome was silently arguing in her head how it hadn't quite gone like that, but she wasn't about to have her mother throw Kigai out of the house. After all, he had taken her out and shown her that even though her life was falling apart, she could have a normal day. And an almost date kind of thing that didn't go horribly awry.

"I see. So you're the one arranging for her to go to the past. How do you want her to do it? She told me the well was destroyed." Her mother's voice broke her quasi argument off and Kagome began to pay attention. Kigai had been sort of foggy on the details with her, she was hoping he'd reveal more here.

"I thought she didn't want to go back and that's why she's been here," Souta voiced. He looked at Kagome and her mother accusingly.

"Souta, Inu Yasha destroyed the well so I couldn't go back," Kagome said quietly. She hadn't wanted to disillusion her little brother, even if Inu Yasha had been a heartless bastard, he brother didn't deserve to know he'd hero worshiped someone who would hurt his big sister so easily.

"Why?"

Kagome had been avoiding this conversation only half an hour ago.

"He didn't like me, he liked someone else, who convinced him to throw me in the well and then destroy it. I don't know why and I'm not going back to travel with him. Someone else has been chosen to help me finish the jewel," Kagome told her little brother. Her tone of voice broed no questions or argument from the boy, and Souta sat, unsatisfied but willing to stay quiet.

"We will send her through one of the other portals. The well wasn't the only one. There's one in Saga that we can open in three days, at midnight exactly. She won't be back for another twenty eight says after that though," Kigai told her mother.

"But Saga is hundreds of miles away!" Old man Higurashi shouted. "And twenty eight days? How are we to know if Kagome is alright? And why twenty eight?"

"Because the portal can only be opened once every lunar cycle, when the moon is a perfect crescent during it's waxing."

"Are there no other portals you can use?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, her voice trembling. Kagome let the full implications of the lunar month hit her. If it could only be opened once a month, did that mean that she would have to stay away from the past for twenty eight days and wait for the portal to open again?

"None that we've been able to find. We've heard rumors of others, but nothings come of any of it. It seems your well was a rather unusual piece of work. Almost every portal I've heard of has some sort of schedule. This one is linked to Sesshoumaru's maternal bloodline. We think maybe it belongs to her family lands. There is supposed to be another portal nearby that lads to the Castle of Sesshoumaru's mother, what would be his castle in that time."

"Sesshoumaru? You mean Inu Yasha's brother?" Souta asked. His eyes flashed angrily. "Why would you put her anywhere near anyone related to that jerk?" Souta demanded.

"Sesshoumaru hates Inu Yasha, remember?" Kagome asked.

"Doesn't he also hate humans dear?" The older Higurashi female asked. She was putting up a brave front, not letting any worry creep into her tone, but she didn't realize she was shredding a napkin in her hands as she stared at her daughter.

"Yeah, but we have a secret weapon mom. It'll be okay, so don't worry. We really don't have a choice about this. I have to help them. I have to do this, please understand," Kagome pleaded with her family. She looked at them all, their faces and worried eyes. She realized that so much had changed in the last seven months. So much she hadn't even noticed. And in three days she would have to memorize everything she could just so she had something to remember while she was gone.

"Kigai, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Kagome's mother asked.

"Yes ma'am. We have Kirara, Jaken and the monk Kouin all working together with us so that Kagome can help my father."

"Alright. I can't say I'm happy about how long she's going to be gone, but if there's really no choice, I guess we'll have to find some way to deal with it," She finished.

The doorbell rang, and suddenly everybody decided to talk about something a lot more mundane while they grabbed what they wanted from the take out dishes.

Like Kagome's not-a-date-day with Kigai.

"So do you two have a nice date today?"

"Mo-oooom!" Kagome flushed as she hid her face in her hands.

"I'm only saying that you two looked like a couple when you came in. I thought you had lied to me about going to find out about your friends and going to the past at first. He does look awfully young for a youkai, and not like a youkai at all," Her mother finished.

"Ah, well, umm," Kigai said as she looked at the ceiling. Little by little his ears began to smooth themselves into points like kagura's, and his eyes, an emerald green, changed slightly as Kagome watched the normal, round pupils turn to slits that were so deep a red they could be mistaken for black. Kagome couldn't help but stare.

"Apparently my mother had red pupils like this," He laughed. Mrs. Higurashi immediately went to tapping the tops of his pointed ears.

"Well, you are a youkai. We were just used to Inu Yasha's ears," the older woman started.

"Ah, he was a hanyou. My brother has funny ears too. Maybe you'll meet him someday. Izou is usually busy being Lord, but I know he'll want to meet you all," Kigai told them.

For awhile, everyone ate in silence until Souta began pestering Kigai about his powers. Kagome pestered Souta to stop pestering Kigai, although being curious herself. She swore she'd eat her math book before admitting it aloud.

"Umm, well, most of it involves fire and air. I blew up a storehouse when I was sixteen by accident. My foxfire ended up combining with my wind gifts and somehow created a sort of tornado of fire. It took us forever to figure out how I'd done it."

"Do you still have problems controlling you, uh, powers?" Souta asked.

"Not really. I've only lost control once since then, and that was two centuries ago," He smiled back, although Kagome saw a brief flash of regret in his eyes.

"Well, can you show me something? Like, can you blow something up or- or," Souta began excitedly. Kagome's mother tried to shush her son when Kigai opened his palm suddenly on the dinner table and a small green flame rolled out of it like some sort of ball. He blew gently on it and the ball narrowed and grew taller and in only a few moments looked like two tiny, perfect dancers.

Kagome watched amazed as the wind from his breathe seemed to flow into the dancers and they bowed to one another and began dancing with one another, almost like two sprites as they moved across the table.

When they stopped waltzing, they turned to everyone and bowed as Kagome and her mother clapped, then promptly turned to smoke.

"That was amazing!" Kagome said excitedly, her cheeks flushed.

"It wasn't all that great," Souta groused from his side of the table. Kagome growled at him and Kigai laughed, suddenly opening his palm again and letting another ball of flame roll out, this one a dark crimson.

Suddenly two samurai formed and they flowed like fire, thrusting and parrying their swords, trying to win a fight that seemingly made no sense. Souta watched, stunned, as they moved as gracefully as the dancers had. When one stabbed the other, instead of bowing, they abruptly turned into smoke.

"That was AWESOME!" Souta cried out. Kagome's mother looked less than pleased, and her grandfather was whipping out a sutra.

"Don't you even dare Grandpa. Kigai is a guest in our home. And if you do anything so he doesn't come back again I'm going to throw you in the well," Kagome ground out between her teeth. The quiet menace emanating from her gave the undercurrent of determined vengeance. Old man Higurashi didn't doubt her for a second.

"So, ah, Kagome, would you like to take your 'friend' for a walk around the shrine and discuss the particulars?" Her mother asked, putting a articular emphasis on the word 'friend' and her tone becoming playfully suggestive.

"Yes momma," Kagome said, standing and taking Kigai's hand. She blushed slightly when his larger, warmer hand curled around hers as she dragged him out of the house, not even stopping for shoes.

"I'm so sorry about them!" Kagome exclaimed when they got further away from the house.

"Don't apologize for your family. They're all delightful to be around. Everyone seems so happy and loving. It's easy to understand how you came to be yourself, once you've met them," Kigai stated. Kagome was puzzling over his words, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or mocking her when he stopped.

The Goshinboku loomed over them in the night, it's leaves blocking out the sky and the stars that flickered dimly over the bright city of Tokyo.

"I wish I could see the stars again. That's one of the things I miss most about the past. There's no huge cities with tons of lights, making it impossible to see the stars. The night sky was always so bright back then," Kagome sighed.

"What the-" Kagome yelped as Kigai lifted her up, draping her over his arms bridal style as he launched himself into the air.

'No, he's on a feather, like Kagura's,' Kagome told herself as they moved over the trees.

"Can, can you put me down?" Kagome stuttered out, trying not to let her blush show, although her face felt like it was a small sun and just as visible in the night.

"Oh, uh, sure," Kigai said awkwardly. Kagome saw the young youkai in him once again as he let her down to sit next to him on the impossibly large feather.

"How did you learn to do wind magic?" Kagome asked conversationally.

"Sesshoumaru taught me what he coul, although it wasn't much. A lot of it was in stories of wha my mother did, and I tried to do whatever I heard described. Sesshoumaru said I did well for a mixed breed," Kigai laughed. "Sesshoumaru never quite lost his whole obsession with class, even after he holed himself away."

"Why did he? Hole himself away, I mean. He never seemed like the kind of guy to hide from humans," Kagome said.

"I don't know exactly. He was never very open with me, but he and father were good friends. Sesshoumaru still rules his lands to the best of his ability, but this world is too chaotic for him to control everything. He's still somewhere. I would know if he had died, but I don't know where he is. Te last time I saw him he was talking about Japan opening it's ports for import and export and I haven't seen him since."

"So he's still alive?"

"I think so. There have been a few rumors Kirara has been trying to confirm, but we can't get a lock on the sorce. Not even Jaken knows. Some say that Sesshoumaru has decided to sleep, putting himself in a coma until he decides to wake. It wouldn't surprise me, quite a few youkai have taken that route over the last two centuries."

"He just always seemed so in control, so aloof and untouchable. I can't imagine him s anything other than Inu Yasha's scary older brother," Kagome told her new found friend.

"Don't worry," Kigai said. "Now, look up," He whispered into her ear. Kagome looked up and gasped at the sight of all the stars, each one glittering strongly in the sky.

"Where are we?" Kagome asked, looking at the sky in wonderment.

"Just outside of Tokyo," Kigai told her, watching her eyes widen and her face slush slightly. Before he knew what he was doing, he had turned her face gently and kissed her flush on the lips, lingering for only a moment before he pulled away slowly, his face as red as hers, but still he met her stare directly.

"Umm, Kigai?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you do that?"

"I don't know."

Kagome's mind was practically jumping in glee. Hot, sexy demon was wanting to kiss her, even if he didn't know why, that didn't matter one bit. Hot demon guy. Hot demon guy in HER time. Hot demon guy that wasn't angry or immature or inconsiderate or a complete jerk and he wasn't in love with some previous incarnation of herself.

Kagome considered herself pretty lucky, even if he didn't know why he kissed her. She sighed and just let herself fall against him. Kigai only flushed a brighter red, if that was possible, and put his arm around her.

"Kigai?"

"Hmm?"

"If I'm not home soon, my mom's going to flip."

"Oh, right," He mumbled as he directed the feather back to Kagome's home.

Sesshoumaru had never taught him how to deal with his emotions, not really. Unlike the inu youkai, cutting his emotions off and simply not feeling them was not an option. So Kigai stumbled along some sort of awkward path trying to figure out what to do next.

Soon they landed and Kigai walked her to her door and told her goodnight, and that he'd pick her up in three days, early in the morning so they could get to the small, private airport and fly to Saga and get everything in order. Kagome smiled as he stumbled over his sentences, and stood on tip toe to kiss him.

"I SAW THAT!" A young boys voice shouted from behind a closed window, no less understandable for the glass barrier. A loud reprimand was heard and Kagome giggled quietly.

"See you in three days Kigai. Thank you for a wonderful day. If you want though, you're welcome back for dinner anytime."

"Thanks," Kigai said as he walked off towards the shrine steps. Kagome watched him from the walkway wrapping around her home.

After a few minutes, the screen door behind her slid open and she heard the light footsteps of her mother come up behind her.

"I take it there's more to it than you admitted earlier," Her mother stated artlessly. Kagome could hear the smile in her voice, the curiosity.

"We took me outside of Tokyo on a feather, showed me the brightest stars I've seen in this time, and kissed me. And it was amazing."

"Ah, well then. I expect he's coming back for dinner before he spirits you away to Saga, correct?" Kagome's mother stated playfully.

"Ah, well, maybe. Momma, do you think he's ok? As a person, I mean."

"Well, he is a youkai, but after Inu Yasha and the time travel I don't think you'll ever be content with a human man. And as far as personality he seems nice enough. Not to mention he is very cute, if you like punk rockers," Her mother finished.

"He DOES NOT look like a punk rocker!" Kagome denied vehemently as she and her mother walked back inside their home, arguing playfully. Kagome ignored the ranting of her grandfather and her little brother's questions and went upstairs to sleep after a long, but exciting day.

_'My first real date, I guess. I really like him.'_

For the first time in months, Kagome went to bed smiling.

* * *

I know, I know, it's not long, and it probably sucks. That's because the first four pages or so were written moons ago, and then I stopped writing because of jerkwad, so my skills are a little rusty (what skills I had to begin with).

Anyway, this is Sess/Kag. Im serious. I'm just trying to make it more complicated than I did in previous stories.

Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of this soon. Please review! I've gotten a ton of favorite and story alert things while I was away, so I know you guys are reading. Reviews would rock! Please? For my battered ego?


	5. Chapter 5

**Hatter:** Hallo again. Thank you guys for the reviews and for everyone that favorite it! Hope you guys like this chapter, it was sort of a rush between work and study. Please review! Danke!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inu Yasha and I don't own The Wallflowers or their music.

**The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere**

**Chapter 5 - Still Pressing On**

* * *

Kagome looked at the small gate in front of her. Kouin was waving a censer filled with incense by it's chain. It was almost midnight, and the moon was a perfect crescent in a starless, black sky. There were others, placed near the edge of the clearing. Some where chanting, others were drumming. She wondered how so many people knew the right words, the right beat.

She shrugged her backpack up on her shoulders again and hugged the sword closer to her chest, praying that it would work, and that it wouldn't, at the same time.

A shiver ran down her spine as Kouin traced her body with a small branch of evergreen as he continued to wave the censer with his other hand. He never stopped chanting, never missed a beat. The smoke wrapped itself around Kagome, obliterating the sharp scent of the evergreen branch he had moved over her face only a second before. She looked to the sky. Surprisingly, her only duty had been to place an offering of food and sake at the alter behind her. She looked to the sky and felt herself growing dizzier and dizzier as the smoke pervaded her nostrils and enveloped her.

She wanted to say goodbye to Kigai before she went through the gate. Before she could even move, the pace and tempo of the chanting and drums changed.

The voices rose, higher and higher, the drums becoming more aggressive as they thudded out their song. Kagome felt her body becoming heavier and more fuzzy, like each cell was beginning to fly apart from the others. Everything began to blur together and she saw Kigai and Kirara from a distance, watching with wide eyes as the gate creaked open on old, rusty hinges. Kagome turned away from them, not even realizing she was moving forward until the gate shut behind her. Her vision faded and she felt like she had no body, no eyes anymore. All sensation faded before she had a chance to whisper goodbye to the people who meant so much to her.

* * *

Gentle prodding and whispers invaded Kagome's consciousness. Light began to infiltrate her closed lids, little pinpricks at first and then full out daggers stabbing hatefully as she forced her eyes to open and survey her surroundings.

"Who are you?" A voice asked.

"Don't be silly, it's a human. Through the Saga gate no less. And she's got a youkai sword with her too," Another voice answered for her.

"Do you think it's what those scrolls told us about?" The decidedly higher voice said. Kagome peeked at the two people (people being a broad term) staring at her form.

"She'll ask for what they said. If not, it's a fluke and we kill her," The deeper voice said. This voice belonged to a rusty brown youkai, although what kind Kagome couldn't begin to name. It was furry, whatever it was, with orange eyes and fat. But fat with really, really, sharp, long claws.

The youkai with the higher voice was male, but very androgynous. He looked like some sort of deer or stag, his antlers short, emerging from his temples.

"I need to go through the other portal, the one that takes me to the stronghold in the Western Lands," Kagome told them as she tried to stand. Her legs felt like jelly and her stomach swam, bile rising viciously in her throat.

"Which stronghold?" The deer asked.

"Lord Sesshoumaru's. I was told the Guardians here would help me," She told them.

"And why should we let some lowly human pass?" The furry youkai asked, loathing evident in his voice. Kagome saw how he was eying her, and his tone of voice set her hackles up.

_'Now don't forget. They might be hostile or they might think you're just a lowly human. Stand up to them and act regal. If they ask, tell them your on a mission of important to Lord Sesshoumaru concerning his sword.'_ Kagome remembered Kigai telling her for the umpteenth time before she left. They had held hands the whole plane ride and said little.

Kagome drew herself up despite her shaky legs and straightened her shoulders, looking at them as if they were the most insignificant creatures in the world. It was, all in all, a very 'Sesshoumaru' look, and she forced her voice to be calm and even, almost bored sounding.

"I am on an errand of great importance for his Lordship, concerning his sword. Now either you will help me get through that portal or I will leave and take the long way. And when I arrive I will make sure to tell him why it took me so long to arrive with his sword, and who is responsible for such a delay." She congratulated herself as she watched their faces pale and the haughty smirks leave their eyes. If Sesshoumaru had been there, he might have even congratulated her at her imitation of him.

"You didn't have to be so mean about it, we just needed to make sure you weren't some sort of thief or assassin. Come this way, right through this gate," The deer told her, pushing her through the gate rudely, as if too eager to be rid of her.

"No drums or incense?" Kagome asked, disconcerted with the lack of ceremony. She was almost all the way through the gate and didn't notice the two youkai start at her question.

"Ah, this is the wrong gate. You'll be needing this one," The deer said as he steered her to a completely different gate, one set further back in the clearing and to her left. She hadn't even noticed it as she had observed the differences in the clearing of now and of her time.

"Are you sure?" Kagome began, confused as to how the Guardians could confuse which gate to send her through.

"Yes, yes, very sure. This is the right gate. Please send His Lordship our regards," The deer said, giving her a final push through the gate.

No flashing lights, no poof of smoke. Nothing. One minute Kagome was there, and the next she was gone, as if stepping through a veil.

"I'm glad she mentioned that drum bit," The rust colored youkai said.

"Me too. If she hadn't I would have thought she was an impostor and sent her straight to that horrid well."

"That would have been a mess. Someone comes looking for her and all we can say 'oops, we sent her to Inu Yasha's forest. She's probably dead. Sorry'. A bad mess alright. Well, you sent her through the right portal, right?"

"No, I sent her through the left one."

"Which is the right one, right?"

"No it's the left one." The youkai answered dumbly.

"But was it the right one?" The rust colored youkai shouted angrily.

"I keep telling you I sent her through the left one!" The deer shouted back.

* * *

It is known, that even in the best of times, deer youkai are not very bright. Fortunately, he had sent Kagome through the right portal, neglecting of course, to mention that the portal dropped her off in a huge, dark room.

"Crap!" Kagome grumbled as she stubbed her toe against something heavy. She moved backwards and suddenly she was tripping over something heavy and knocking something else heavy over. Her bag's extra weight knocked her off balance and since her hands were clasping the sword firmly to her chest, she had nothing to support herself as she fell over, taking several loud, clangy objects with her.

"Great," She muttered. She felt like a turtle on it's back as she tried to move herself to some sort of position she could sit up in.

"What exactly, are you doing in here?" A cold, menacing voice asked. Kagome groaned and gave up trying to sit up with her bag still on her back and let it slip loose.

"I'm looking for Sesshoumaru."

"You have found him. Now, why were you, a human, foolish enough to seek out this Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome felt her brain stutter to a halt. The room was still dark, but she was willing to bank money on him having night vision of some sort. She tried to make herself look presentable somehow.

_'No matter what, do not let Sesshoumaru see you nervous or falter. Act as if you re a princess, one of higher rank than he, and remember you are a miko of vast power, you can destroy him if you choose.'_

Kigai's advice sped through her head like nonsense words. She couldn't destroy Sesshoumaru, especially not when she couldn't even see a foot in front of her. But she mustered up every scrap of courage she had and tried to sound calm and dignified.

"My Lord, I come on a matter of urgent business from the future. If I may have some light, I can show you proof of the dire news I carry, and the importance of the mission."

She needed light. The dark was beginning to close in on her, and her legs felt like they were going to fold beneath her weight. Her knees kept jerking sporadically and her stomach churned, waiting for his answer.

"Very well, follow me to my study. If your evidence is insufficient, I will kill you messenger." The voice was cold and said nothing more. It didn't need to. Kagome swallowed nervously and started as a door opened and dim light came into the room from the corridor, throwing everything into shadow. Kagome grabbed her bag and the sword and clutched both to her chest, thankful Sesshoumaru was already out in the hall and had his back to her. She didn't think she could look and sound regal at the same time, especially not when fumbling with the overweight book bag.

Following him down the corridor and down a flight of stairs, Kagome sighed when he finally opened another door and walked in. Kagome followed and closed the door behind her. No one else could hear this conversation. And hopefully she wouldn't be a stain of blood and brains on the beautiful wooden door that had designs on the wood weaving around the paper panels.

She sat after Sesshoumaru, making sure not to insult his authority or position at all, and held Tenseiga out to him.

"This is your sword from the future. If you look closely, you'll see there is a difference, you yourself made to it, but it is still your father's fang. I am from 500 years in the future. You may or may not remember me," Kagome started.

"You once traveled with Inu Yasha," Sesshoumaru stated. He had still not taken Tenseiga from her grasp. His words sounded almost damning.

"Yes. Seven months ago he threw me into the portal and then destroyed it. I could no longer use it to come to the past. However, certain youkai in the future made me aware of several events that lead to the near extinction of the youkai race, and have asked me to come through another portal and intervene and change history."

It really had sounded so much better in her head.

"You lie. Youkai will continue on, a strong race," Sesshoumaru told her, dismissing her words.

"No, Inu Yasha and Naraku will end up directly or indirectly causing the death of seventy percent of this era's youkai population."

"Hanyou, causing such chaos? Impossible. Miko, you had better come up with a better story than that to save yourself. I do not appreciate thieves rifling through my mother's chambers in the middle of the night."

Kagome snapped, angry that her fate had led her here of all places, to a youkai that couldn't believe she was from the future, couldn't believe her story, couldn't understand her purpose. He was as bad as the humans. And he was a youkai, she had expected some belief in magic from him of all people.

"Oh damnit, just take the fucking sword already! I'm not lying, and I don't really want to die. Kigai told me that it would work, but I can see that he was wrong and I was right. You're a stubborn, cold jerk who wouldn't believe the truth if it jumped and bit you in the a-"

Her tirade was interrupted when he grabbed the sword and looked at her expectantly. Only a second later, his expression changed to one of bewilderment.

Kagome made a mental note of it, almost positive it was the only time in his life he had felt that way.

"It's got part of my fang in it," Sesshoumaru said.

"Your fang? Fine, now you know I'm not lying. Ready to listen?" Kagome demanded.

"How did you come into possession of my sword? And is Kigai my son?" Sesshoumaru demanded.

Kagome was floored. His doubt turning into sudden belief, very forceful belief but belief nonetheless, startled her and cooled her temper. She remembered Kigai's words on how to act, saw they didn't work, and promptly discarded them.

"Kigai is not your son, he is the son of the Lord of the Eastern Lands," Kagome began.

"There is no Lord of the East," Sesshoumaru snapped.

"There will be. Now do you want me to finish or are you going to interrupt me every five seconds?" Kagome snapped back. A growl rose in Sesshoumaru's throat, a clear indication he didn't like the tone of her voice nor her carelessness towards his station. However, he motioned for her to continue as he looked at his sword, his face impassive as he tried to figure out how and why it had a filler of his own fang in it.

"I don't know if they have already, but Inu Yasha and Naraku will join up and search for the shikon shards. In the process they will either kill or absorb seventy percent of this era's youkai population. They will screw things up big time for the youkai human relationship, and humans will kill off more. The result is that there are few youkai and hanyou in my time, all of them hiding behind the Lord of the East's magic." Kagome paused to see if Sesshoumaru gave any indication of believing her. "I have been sent back by Kigai and Kirara and several monks to ask your assistance in changing this and completing the jewel, keeping it out of Naraku ad Inu Yasha's hands."

Several minutes passed in silence.

"It is very strange that Kigai is the son of the east, when I had always wanted to name my own child that," Sesshoumaru stated.

"You are his godfather. But you fostered him. He was the second son. If possible, I want to find the Lord, but he is not lord yet. He's still a kit, and with Inu Yasha," Kagome finished.

"I have no care to gather shards of the shikon jewel. I know it's power seduces all creatures to destruction. Why would they choose a weak human to gather them, when humans are the most easily ensnared by it's promise?" Sesshoumaru asked her, eying her with cold assessment.

"I can sense the jewel shards when they are close by, and I can purify them," Kagome told him. "I do not want to do anything with the jewel itself. I don't know why it doesn't affect me, but it doesn't, and I'm grateful, so I don't ask questions."

"Why would they choose me to help you, a human? Your power to purify the shikon and find it is something, but still, you are a human, and would only delay any chances I have of finding the shards."

Kagome snapped again. Human this, human that. She wanted to hit the youkai with a blunt object at the moment, but stood and did her best imitation of looking and sounding regal. Which, with her now stiff knees and almost calm stomach, she did pull of rather well, if she did say so herself.

"I am not just a human, I am a miko of decent strength. I have fought many youkai, killed many, and lived. I came here in good faith to your honor as a protector of your lands, of your home, but I can see I was wrong. I will have to go back and we will find some other, more noble, stronger youkai," Kagome said. She prayed, hoped, and pleaded with the gods that Sesshoumaru wouldn't deny her. After all, if she had to go back, she had to wait a month, and where would she do that? And how would she get back to the rooms? Surely Sesshoumaru wouldn't let her back in after throwing her out and ignoring her plea for help.

"You may have a room here tonight while I think on this matter and decide. And miko, there are no more stronger, more noble youkai in Japan than this Sesshoumaru," He said before standing. Kagome bowed slightly and was only halfway chagrined that he didn't return her bow. However, she was halfway there. Now if only she had some way to be sure the youkai lord would help her. She followed him down the hall, trying to figure out something that might convince him.

"My lord, what happened to the little girl in you care?" Kagome asked. "Rin."

"She is asleep. Do not think to harm her in any way," Sesshoumaru started.

"I would never hurt a baby!" Kagome protested suddenly, all ceremony and stiffness gone. She was just herself again, poking the demon in the back and yelling at him. "I just wanted to tell you she ends up as Izou's mother, as in Izou, the first son of the eastern lord."

"No youkai would take a human mate, especially not a Lord," Sesshoumaru snapped, turning around and startling Kagome into almost falling over.

"They do if they were practically raised by humans. That kit were going to get from Inu Yasha is my son by circumstance, and the one who helps hide the youkai around him from destruction through glamour magic. And all I know is what Kigai told me, and Rin is Izou's mother. She even stops referring to herself in third person." Kagome smiled triumphantly when Sesshoumaru looked startled.

"Should you be telling me this much?" He finally asked, perplexed. "It seems like tempting fate to change itself around."

"Well, that's just what I'm trying to do, aren't I?" Kagome asked. "But, some things just seem right, you know?" Kagome asked. "Besides, now that I think about it, Shippou and Rin would be adorable friends," She stated. "But I'd never tell either of them. That is tempting fate too much anyway."

Sesshoumaru said nothing but lead her towards another corridor and down it, taking a few turns before he stopped in front of a door.

"I will think on this matter, and what you have said. But for now, goodnight," Sesshoumaru told her.

"Umm, is there any way I could have Tenseiga back? Kigai told me you can't have it yet," Kagome told him. Sesshoumaru did not want to give the sword to Kagome, not at all, and it showed in his reluctance to and the blade over to her.

"I will send for you when I have made my decision."

Kagome took his dismissal as gracefully as she could, wanting to knock him from whatever high horse he was on. After all, she was trying to help save his species, the people he was responsible for, and the only thing he could do was act like a pompous jerk.

She sighed and closed the door, walking to the bed and laying Tenseiga on it carefully. She then took in the room itself. Everything was done in white with only a few accent touches here and there. White furniture, white sheets and pillows.

Sighing, Kagome finally removed her shoes and laid down on the bed, keeping Tenseiga loosely closed in her arms as she tried to get sleep. Finally, she settled into some sort of restless dream.

* * *

"I wonder, how did they come across a time portal, one that led to mother's room no less. And if she changes time, what will happen? Surely her world will not be the same if she succeeds," Sesshoumaru thought aloud to himself as he sat in his rooms, admiring the glow of the crescent moon, a perfect model for the emblem on his forehead. A perfect match.

He was thinking about the paradox she was now a part of. And if she changed anything now, did it mean that in her time, it had already happened, but youkai had just vanished for another reason, despite her efforts? What if things did change, and she remembered a world with youkai in hiding, when they existed at all?

He loved puzzles, problems, paradoxes. This one, while screaming warnings merely with it's message, tempted him. That and the chance to destroy his half brother and that pseudo hanyou.

The puzzle of Rin becoming a great lady wasn't hard to figure out, but he wondered why Kagome had said she was the mother of the first child. Would she be betrayed, as his mother had been, and be forced to accept infidelity of her husband? Would she die, and the lord take a new wife?

Neither idea appealed to him.

And what of Tenseiga? When, and how, most importantly, why, had it been filled with one of his own fangs? Was it different now, did it have some other, untapped power his father had neglected to mention to him? It seemed possible. Tessaiga seemed to have powers even he hadn't known about. But his father must have known everything about both swords, having held them so close for so long. So did this new, reformed Tenseiga have something new about it?

He was tempted to go to the miko's room and tear the sword from her grip. But while he did not revere the gods that the humans prayed to, he revered the primitive powers of the world, the currents of energy and magic that flowed through the land, the spirit lurking beneath it all. And those nameless magic's had brought him this. He would not let his temptation get the better of him and risk some sort of calamity falling in him because of it.

The youkai lord tried to figure out the puzzle in his head and only came up with more questions, frustrating himself to no end, but also pleasing himself. His mind had not been so challenged in decades, and the paradox demanded his attention. He would solve the puzzle and see it through.

_'Perhaps I have been too quick to dismiss the miko from my presence. I think that she will reveal more if asked.'_

* * *

Kagome groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over her face. She think she understood what people said when they were hungover, and how they felt like complete and utter crap. Her head felt stuffed full of cotton. Cotton that was trying to explode out of her head. Her mouth felt dry and tasted vile, and her whole body did not want to move at all.

_'Traveling through time never sucked like this,' _Kagome growled in her head, fearing speaking anything aloud would only make her queasiness worse. The world began to swim a little and she felt her stomach rumble.

_'Oh, it's because I haven't eaten in over twenty four hours,' _she thought to herself wryly. Kouin had told her she couldn't eat for a day before her time travel. And it had been longer than a day. And her stomach, normally well fed and content, was angry. No, rebelling. Kagome prayed to any gods listening (and considering the circumstances, she expected there might be a bit of an audience laughing at her and taking bets) that Sesshoumaru would be a good enough host to arrange for her to have breakfast. He knew humans had to eat, Rin was a human. He had to know.

Or he could have totally forgotten about her existence. He seemed like the kind of person to be able to dismiss eminent doom without a care in the world, sure of his place in the future.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door and it slid open. Kagome peeked her eyes open and sighed in relief when it was Rin looking at her expectantly.

"Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin to get Kagome and bring her to breakfast," The little girl said. Kagome smiled. The thought of her kit happily with this little girl made her want to giggle and spin in circles, that is if she at some food first.

"Rin, I need to change into some appropriate clothes. Can you wait outside for three minutes while I change?" Kagome asked. Rin nodded happily and bounced out of the room,c losing the door behind her.

Kagome of course, didn't have 'appropriate' clothes to wear, not for breakfast. Kigai had made sure she had a ceremonial kimono and something for traveling, but she didn't have anything for everyday. Not for this time anyway. But she did have jeans and a shirt, and she quickly pulled those on, sighing at her own smell.

_'I need a bath. Wonder if Sesshoumaru has any here,' _Kagome asked herself as she opened the door and smiled down at Rin.

"Is Kagome ready?" Rin asked. Kagome couldn't help but practically cuddle the little girl as she hugged her quickly. Rin, unused to physical affection from anyone, smiled and hugged her back. The two parted and Rin led Kagome down the corridors, babbling about Sesshoumaru and Jaken and random servants in the castle. Kagome listened intently. Trying to figure out if anyone could be her ally. But the more Rin spoke, the more Kagome realized the loyalty of Sesshoumaru's servants would be absolute.

Rin finally led Kagome into a huge room where Sesshoumaru was already sitting, consuming something that looked bloody, a little too bloody for Kagome's tastes. But at least it didn't have fur. Or feathers. Or skin.

_'Be calm, be cool, act regal and above reproach and pay off his honor girl, you can do this,'_ Kagome coached herself as she sat down where the taiyoukai had indicated. Rin sat across from her and began dutifully eating her breakfast, oddly quiet for once. Kagome followed her leave, not sure if Sesshoumaru just wasn't a morning person. She didn't like to be harassed until she had had some coffee these days either. Unfortunately, coffee had not yet been brought to Japan. Fortunately, she had brought two cans of instant coffee with her. Except she had left them in her bag, which was in her room. She told herself there was time enough to grab some after breakfast, and after a bath.

Rin finished and looked at the youkai expectantly.

"Rin, Lady Kagome and I have matters to discuss which are not suitable for a young lady. Please go to you tutors. I will be along later," Sesshoumaru told her. Kagome noticed that even though his voice was cold, he had almost smiled at the young girl.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin said as she got up and left the room, bowing to Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Kagome bowed her head in return and turned to Sesshoumaru after Rin was out of the room.

"I have considered your offer miko, and I have decided to go with you," Sesshoumaru told her. What he wasn't telling her was that he had spent all night trying to decide what to do, and had only decided to go along with this until she proved she was a liar or they had finished the ordeal.

"Thank you for your assistance Sesshoumaru. As for the matter of me going back home, I need to go back on occasion, and it can only be done through how I got here, and every twenty eight days," She tried to explain.

"I see," He told her. Kagome took that answer as his assent, not knowing exactly what plan was forming in his head. Sesshoumaru accommodated no one, and as soon as this was done, the better so far as he was concerned.

Kagome, however, continued blithely on, ignoring the fact that he was only nodding slightly, for all the world looking like his mind was somewhere entirely different. And while it was on the same topic, the plan itself was completely opposite of what Kagome was talking about at that very moment.

"If that's alright with you," Kagome finished.

Not even a blink from the youkai lord. Kagome growled and started tapping the top of the table with her fingernails. Sesshoumaru's hand shot out and he trapped hers under his own and stared at her evenly.

"Do not try to distract this Sesshoumaru from his thoughts. If we are to travel together, you will not behave like a child as you did with my brother. Remember _miko_," He practically spat the word out. "You have no geas over me, nothing to restrain me from killing you, and I now know the danger my race faces, so I can stop it, without you," He finished.

Kagome's hand hurt as he tightened his own around it. She did everything she could to keep her eyes from widening and strangled down the whine she felt coming from her throat. She would not give in to his brutal tactics.

Sesshoumaru, for his part, looked unfazed by the fact that he was making her bones crunch. As knuckle popped and Kagome's eyes widened by a fraction of an inch, he felt a sort of gratification come over him, but not at her pain. At her endurance and her stubborn resistance to give him any sort of real reaction.

He released her hand finally and she frowned at him.

"We will prepare for our journey and leave in three days. We will find the future lord, but no one else comes with us," Sesshoumaru started. Kagome looked like she was ready to argue with him, then thought better of it and silenced the retort quickly rising in her throat. Sesshoumaru would not want to be saddled down with two more humans, no matter how resourceful they were. She pushed her regret down deep and prayed she would see her friends again somehow, and assure them she was safe.

"How will you know where to find Shippou?" Kagome asked him.

"He is with Inu Yasha, correct?"

"As far as I know," Kagome told him, her confusion obvious.

"As much as I hate to say it, Inu Yasha and I share blood. Whereever he is, I will know it, always. Blood sings to blood," Sesshoumaru told her, looking like admitting his kinship to the hanyou was more distasteful than eating bugs. Although, he was a youkai, she wasn't sure if he ate bugs or not anyway. The thought itself made her giggle and Sesshoumaru looked at her almost quizzically.

"Nothing, just me being silly," Kagome explained at his unasked question. "But what do we do for three days?" Kagome asked, eager to get going.

"I need to make arrangements for my ward and my lands during my absence. Also, I have to make sure you are up to the pace I'm going to set," He said. Kagome knew he was sneering at her, not baiting her, but after everything she had been through, she couldn't help but bite the bullet.

"I can keep up with you, plus, no matter how you try to say it, I am more efficient for shard hunting," Kagome said. She thought a moment, and hated herself for the words that suddenly spilled out of her mouth and how they reminded her of the past. "Just think of me as a tool. And one does not abuse tools, they take care of them, use them wisely, and they don't break them."

"That is a surprisingly honest statement from a human, your kind tend to be so emotional that they see feelings before they see practicality," Sesshoumaru told her.

Kagome couldn't help herself.

"Was that a compliment from the great Lord Sesshoumaru?" Kagome joked.

He only sneered at her. But she laughed anyway.

Somehow, her problems, even though they were only beginning, seemed lighter. Everything was okay now that she could be in the past again, and she could fix things. Inu Yasha would be good again, Shippou would live, and youkai would survive. And she would piece the jewel back together and make a wish. She still didn't know what she would wish for, but she had time to think about it. After all, a month here and then a month back in her time and maybe a few more trips to get thing cursed thing back together would give her plenty of time.

* * *

Three days later she was sitting on a crazy two headed dragon horse thing. Rin had called it Ah Un and said it was very nice and loved flowers. Kagome took the poor beasts woeful expression into mind when the word flowers was mentioned and just decided to be nice to it. Them. Ah Un.

Sesshoumaru said nothing as Rin babbled goodbyes, but he did put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. Kagome, who had grown very attached to the little girl, was not so subtle. A long hug and a kiss on the forehead was her departure before she got on Ah Un's saddle and waved happily.

And they were suddenly off. Kagome felt her stomach lurch as the beast launched itself into the sky and roared it's joy, shaking her to her bones. She said a very detailed, long prayer, promising she would be good, stop annoying Souta, help more at the shrine and leave offerings everyday if only the gods would let her stay on the youkai and not plummet to the ground.

"I think we might have to be a little lower to the ground for me to sense something," Kagome told him. She could swear that she heard him give a little sniff of disdain.

"Oh lowly human, how could your powers be so weak. I would have saved time by leaving you behind at the castle. Oh Sesshoumaru-sama, I am so sorry I'm so weak, but not all of use can be so great! Oh we lowly humans, we are such weaklings. Please forgive this weak human," Kagome said, mimicking his cold tone and over exaggerating her girlish pitch.

Moments passed in silence as they descended.

"I was not thinking such things. You are not useless to me. You are a useful tool, despite your limitations. Do not project your lowly opinions of yourself onto this Sesshoumaru. You know nothing of my thoughts," He told her in an almost stern tone.

Kagome noticed how Sesshoumaru's tone was always 'almost' something, never the actual thing itself, as if he was totally incapable of showing any sort of passion, whether anger or happiness, just cool detachment. Everything was muted with him somehow.

For a few moments Kagome envied his ability. She wished she had even a mediocum of his restraint when she realized how little affection he showed Rin, and how he seemed to shun all beings, even other youkai. He must be lonely.

Kagome laughed at herself inwardly. She wondered if Sesshoumaru was even capable of feeling lonely. She doubted it. Over the three days in his castle she had seen two dozen servants and they all seemed to revere him and practically worship the ground he walked on. Kagome had asked a few of them about him and they had said only that he was the best master a servant could wish for.

The ride continued in silence, and Kagome cast her senses out, trying to find a jewel shard as they sailed in a random direction. Kagome was hoping Sesshoumaru remembered they had to find Shippou. She was desperate to see the young kit again. And for a few moments, she wondered if Kikyo would be there, then realized she would be. And Inu Yasha.

"We shall be on my brother within a few hours. If he tries to fight me, you will not interfere."

It was a statement, not a question, but Kagome nodded her head in agreement all the same. Questions began cropping up in her head.

_'Will he be surprised to see me? Will he care, will he even notice? Will he try to kill me? What if he tries to keep me from taking Shippou?'_

The questions piled up, one after the other until Kagome's head hurt and she leaned against Ah Un's neck and ran her hand over it, like she was petting a cat. She was surprised when a sort of purr rose from the beasts throat. The other head snorted, as if jealous. Kagome began stroking it's neck with her other hand and a purr began to resound from deep in it's throat as well. She caught Sesshoumaru shooting a glance at her, as if surprised.

"Do not spoil my beasts miko," Were his only words as they flew on.

* * *

**Hatter: **So...The next chapter she meets up with Inu Yasha.

See ya next week.


	6. Chapter 6

Did you know I wasn't dead? Well, I kind of was. I blocked out my muses because I thought they were destroying my life. True story. I would neglect friendships, relationships, responsibilities, eating, that sort of thing, while writing. So I stopped. And I feel sort of soulless. So now I'm back. And it's going to suck for awhile, it really will, because I haven't written so the gears are really, really rusty, and they didn't work all that well to begin with. But I'm going to finish this story if it kills me.

Sorry for the long wait.

Disclaimer : I own nothing, not the wallflowers, not InuYasha. Nada. Don't sue me. I'm a student, you'd get nothing but my student loan debts. But you can have those.

The Beautiful Side Of Somewhere

Chapter 6

* * *

She tried remembering why she hated him, the kind of hell he had put her through for the past several months. But she couldn't call up that kind of hate. It wasn't in her to keep that sort of thing bottled up. And lashing out at someone, no matter if they deserved it or not, was not in her personality. Even if she knew they probably needed a good pounding to wake them up.

"What are you doing here?" He snapped at his brother. Or her. She wasn't sure. She was hiding behind Sesshoumaru. Inu Yasha's eyes had taken the red tint he had when he lost control, and Kagome didn't want to be between him and the older youkai.

"We came here to fetch a kitsune."

"Kagome, I'm right here! Kagome, Inu Yasha and Kikyo are mean!" Shippou whined as he tried to fight himself free of the undead miko's grip. Kagome felt her rage boiling over as the kit cried out in pain at the miko's death grip on him.

"Let my kit go!" Kagome shouted as she rushed the woman she thought of as her own personal doppelganger.

Kikyo seemed surprised by Kagome's tactics and let go of Shippou. But Kagome didn't stop. She knew Shippou would hide somewhere safe. No, her anger had broken, and the only image that stayed with her was the other woman hurting the small youkai. Her vision tinted red and it fluttered through her mind that now she knew how Inu Yasha felt when he lost control. She let it loose as she hit the miko square in the jaw, knocking her over. No powers, no weapons. Kagome jumped on top of her, all reason fleeing.

"I will personally send you to hell and make sure you don't hurt the living anymore," Kagome shouted at her as she released her anger on the face below her. She didn't feel the woman's shoulders trying to wriggle free from beneath her knees, didn't hear the battle between Inu Yasha and his brother. She only heard the slamming of her small fists into the face and the grunts as Kikyo endured them.

But she did feel the sudden jab between her shoulders that knocked her head over feet off of the still form below her.

"Kagome, how could you?" Inu Yasha demanded as he cradled Kikyo in his arms. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He snarled.

And Kagome didn't care that his eyes were tinted red and his fangs ground together as he curled the miko protectively in his arms.

"How could I? Guess. She was hurting my kit. Shippou. And you, you're a piece of work, Inu Yasha. You know what they say of you in the future? They say that you joined with Naraku and killed innocent youkai, hanyou like you, and even humans, just like your mother. For no reason." The words were spilling out, hateful and full of spite. Every word dripped venom, and she knew him well enough to aim them at every vulnerable spot he had. "That you became a mad, petty beast with no mind, just some fool that gave into basic instincts. And you two end up duking it out over a woman. And die. You either directly or indirectly cause the decimation of your father's race. Amazing, isn't it? That a hanyou who never even turns into a full demon can cause so much death."

"It's not true!" Inu Yasha snarled.

"Oh, it is. I've been to the future. I've spoken to people from this time, to their offspring. I've seen what comes of everyone here, I know. And you're forever recorded as a beast, a stupid animal!" Kagome retorted.

Her plan, whatever it had been, if there had been one, probably didn't end with Inu Yasha rushing her, completely forgetting the pummeled Kikyo lying in the grass. But Kagome welcomed the pain as he flew into her. Made sure the imprint of every pebble pressed into her back. She memorized his face. Made sure she has every detail down. His hands were around her neck, his claws digging in painfully. Her windpipe was closing, and she was getting dizzy. Her will was fighting against her lack of oxygen as she struggled to tell him everything she could.

"I've been sent back by those of the future that don't want youkai hiding from the world, a pitiful few compared to humanity. They want me to complete the jewel and destroy Naraku. And I will. I will make sure you can't destroy your own people, make Shippou hide who he is for most of his life." The claws had relaxed at some point, but dug in deeper at her accusatory tone. Stars danced in her vision, and she forced back the shades of purple and blue trying to pull themselves over her vision. "If you have any mind left, you'll remember what I'm telling you. You won't join him, for any promise, for any fulfillment. It will mean the annihilation of everything you claim to care about. You will have no honor, no record of what a good person you can be. Rewrite your history Inu Yasha, and you might survive to my time instead of living out a few more years and becoming trapped in your own sword," Kagome told him. She saw the shadow over them, felt Inu Yasha's fingers digging into her skin deeper, bruising it. His eyes seemed to show only the madness of the beast.

"You're pathetic," He whispered to her. "And you lie like a jealous whore."

His fist came into her temple before Sesshoumaru had any time to react. But the youkai did throw the hanyou as deep into the forest as he could, grabbing the miko and walking to Ah Un.

"Kit, if you wish to join us, the miko will be traveling with me," Sesshoumaru said loud and clear in the direction the kitsune's sent drifted from.

The kitsune bolted from the bushes and to Sesshoumaru, bouncing onto Ah Un as Sesshoumaru strapped the unconscious woman down to the beast's saddle.

"Why is she traveling with you?" Shippou asked.

"I am the best option to accomplish her mission."

"Is what she said true."

"I'm hoping that it's not anymore, or that it won't be by the time this is over."

"Oh."

* * *

Sesshoumaru wanted to strangle the unconscious woman and the kit she had claimed as her own. Once they had settled into flight, the kit had refused to be silent, badgering him with questions. The lord tried to mentally block him out, going over the events of the day in his head.

The woman had surprised everyone there, going at the other female like that. She hadn't used her powers or weapons, just beat on her like a madwoman. He supposed he would have to watch the woman more carefully. He wasn't entirely convinced the rage had been just for the treatment of the kit. Kagome has seemed to want to punish her, not kill her, like most mothers would have.

"Sesshoumaru, where are we going?" Shippou asked, breaking into his thoughts with that high pitched voice grinding against his forced calm.

"We are going to my home. Rin will be there," He said, thinking it a stroke of genuis.

"Rin's a girl! Girls are nasty!" Shippou said, his voice suggesting girls were only slightly below playing with rotting eyeballs.

_'Won't think that in a few years pup, trust me,'_ Sesshoumaru sighed mentally as they continued flying.

* * *

Kagome let one eye drift open as she came back to consciousness. Her throat hurt and she wanted water. A lot of it. And food. And aspirin.

The room was empty except for the silent youkai who appeared to be sleeping. Kagome tired to quietly climb out of bed and to her pack when she felt clawed fingers grabbing her shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded in his normal, brusque tone.

"Getting some pain relievers," Kagome told him as she shrugged from his grasp, kneeling to open her pack. She wasn't going to let on how much her raspy voice bothered her. Luckily the bottle was in the front of the smaller pocket and she didn't have to dig. She knocked three out and swallowed them without thought, trying to work the pills down her exceptionally dry throat.

"Here," He said, handing her a cup of some tea. Kagome drank it all in one gulp and made a face after she had given the cup back to him.

"It is an herbal remedy to help with the pain as well."

"Awesome. Can I have a bath? I feel like I got trampled by a stampede of youkai."

"Only after you tell me exactly why you thought it was a good idea to tell my brother why you were here."

"Hopefully all that got through to him and he'll think twice before joining up with Naraku. If not, we kill Naraku anyway, and not have to worry about it."

"And if he continues in this way?"

"If we do our jobs, it won't happen," Kagome snapped as she pulled out some clothes for after her bath. Her toothbrush and toothpaste came out with them.

"What is that?" He asked suddenly, after several moments of silence. Kagome had been trying to slyly sneak a clean bra from her bag, without the youkai lord noticing. And failed miserably.

'Uh, well, a uh," Kagome stammered.

"Well?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"A bra."

"What is a bra?" He asked her.

It, well, it umm, it's for a woman's chest."

"Why, it doesn't seem like it would be efficient in binding her chest."

"It's for support."

Sesshoumaru would never admit it, but he was having far too much fun making the human uncomfortable. She would be meek, spew fire, or poke him. But this was the first time being uncomfortable around him, and by far the easiest way to spend time with her. Definitely better than her spewing fire at him like some fishwife.

"Why would women want support? I've only heard of women binding themselves to pass as men."

"It prevents sag later in life and keeps my chest from bouncing around while I do things. Like running, or riding on Ah Un or fighting. In general it makes my life a little less painful," Kagome snapped finally. Her cheeks were bright red and she was flushing all the way down to the neck of her shirt.

"Oh. That's all you had to say. The baths are this way. Oh, what are those?" He asked completely lost for a moment. The tiny fabric she placed under the bra. It looked strange. Like an odd hat with holes for overlarge ears. The fabric itself was white, blue and green stripped, fabric between the front and back seeming bands..

"Oh kami, Sesshoumaru, are you really that dumb? It's a pair of underwear. They cover my butt and front and keep the breeze out or whatever else their function is!" Kagome snapped, finally loosing her temper and patience with the youkai.

"And everyone in your time wears them?"

"Dear kami, I swear if you get me through teaching his royal pain in the butt about unmentionables, I will be better about praying to you and making offerings and observing holy days," Kagome whispered, looking at the ceiling.

"If you ever call me by such a name again, I will behead you."

"Then who would explain thongs to you?" She snapped back at him as she gathered her clothes and waited expectantly.

"What is a thong?" He asked a few minutes later as he lead her to the bath house. They had gone outside and Kagome wanted to enjoy the sight of the flowers lining the walkway. She missed home. And hot showers. And bubble baths.

"It's a kind of underwear that has a trian-kami, I am not explaining that to you," Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose as they walked on a stone path covered by a wooden walkway.

"The people of the future are very odd," He stated as he opened the door.

"We think you guys are just as crazy," She muttered as she walked into the bath house and slammed the door shut behind her.

* * *

She sank into the warm water and sighed gratefully. Her sore, tense muscles loosened up and she tried to bring the fight with the hanyou to the surface.

It hadn't hurt her to see him. Her heart hadn't twisted painfully in her guts like it should have. In fact, she admitted to herself she wasn't even as angry as she thought she was. She had gone postal on Kikyo, but that was because she saw someone who looked so much like her practically crushing Shippou in her grip. And it had thrown her. Something in her had snapped and she had lost her mind. And she didn't regret it. Not because she hated the miko (because she actually felt sorry for the woman) but because Shippou was to be protected. He was her baby.

And her speech to Inu Yasha hadn't been to hurt him, not because of their past anyway. She knew how to get to him. She felt the guilt twisting her guts suddenly, and felt shame suffuse her being. She wondered if that was what the others had planned when they told her to try and stop Inu Yasha from joining Naraku.

No, they had probably thought her innate goodness and purity would sway him. But it wouldn't, and she wasn't sure she was up to it. The old her would have tried so hard. But that was the problem, the old her had tried. And tried. And still failed. And beating up the undead miko probably hadn't helped the situation.

"Gods, I am a monster," Kagome muttered as she sank deeper into the water, tears coming to her eyes. She had intentionally manipulated Inu Yasha to the best of her ability, stabbing him in every weak point he had, whispering to whatever was left of him beneath the madness that had seemed to overtake him.

When had she become so cold?

* * *

"Kagome!" Shippou shouted in joy as he raced across the small pavilion to her. Kagome leaned down and pulled him into her embrace, hugging him tightly. She made sure not to flinch as his arms encircled her bruised neck. She prayed the turtleneck hid everything. There was a nasty bruise on her temple, but that was nothing make-up couldn't fix. Her neck had been much easier, thanks the gods. It had been a mottled mess of bruises.

"You were so brave Kagome! That evil lady didn't know what hit her!" Shippou said gleefully. Kagome was glad she hadn't seen her face as she had gone at Kikyo. Perhaps now he would have a better childhood. Free of Inu Yasha and the terror he had experienced. Maybe he could avoid the scars that had stayed within his heart to be exposed to his sons. Maybe all of them would avoid pain, at least a little of it.

"So Shippou, have you been behaving yourself?" Kagome asked. The kitsune looked innocent and sweet, and she knew that when he peered up at her, pretending that some sort of halo hung around his head, that he had been up to some sort of mischief.

"We've been playing with Jaken."

Ah. Well then. She was content to leave him be with the toad demon and Rin. Any mischief brought down on the rude little being was karmic punishment.

She let Shippou down and followed him into the pavilion, smiling with amusement as they went back to playing with Jaken. Kagome stared in wonder as they began playing a game that seemed designed specifically to torture the poor toad.

"It's called war," Shippou said brightly when asked. Kagome thought it best to not mention the card game back home.

She felt more than saw Sesshoumaru standing at the entrance of the pavilion, watching them all as if they were a million miles below him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried out, running to her foster father. Kagome knew that Sesshoumaru stayed visibly detached from the girl, but she could understand why. Or at the very least could venture a few guesses.

"Kagome, I trust you are feeling better?" Sesshoumaru asked. Kagome nodded. Her throat hurt and she had popped some more of the painkillers, but otherwise dealt with it. It would not be the worst thing to happen to her, at least she was betting on it considering how the journey had started.

"Good. I want to head out tomorrow. We'll leave the kit here under the protection of-"

"NO! I'm not letting Kagome leave again! I stay with her!" Shippou shrieked suddenly. Kagome barely had time to register his words before he slammed into her side, his little hands clenching the fabric of her shirt determinedly.

"Boy, you will only slow us down and I will not have you in the way when we battle Naraku," Sesshoumaru stated coldly.

"Kagome, don't leave me again. What if Inu Yasha comes back, what if he tries to make me travel with him? What if something happens to you? What if you try to leave for your time without saying goodbye?" The questions all ran into each other as hiccuping sobs mixed with the words, making them barely intelligible.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm not sure I can leave him. He's been through so much already," Kagome began.

"If Shippou gets to go, I want to go too!" Rin shouted, beginning to throw her own tantrum.

Kagome stared in amazement. She had never, ever seen the girl throw a tantrum before.

"Rin, I am not taking you with me," Sesshoumaru started.

The piercing shrieking the followed hurt Kagome's ears, making her eardrums vibrate painfully in her head. So she knew Sesshoumaru had to be in some sort of pain. Not that he showed it. Except for twitching ever so slightly. But his expression betrayed that he was not pleased in the slightest.

"Rin, you will stop this instant," Sesshoumaru commanded. His eyes widened in surprise when the girl completely ignored him and continued on.

"Your kit has been a bad influence on my ward," Sesshoumaru stated coldly.

"Shippou is not a bad influence," Kagome snapped back. She seemed to do that a lot with him.

"My ward has never acted this way before."

"She's a child. They do that."

"How do you get them to stop?"

Kagome thought for a moment, trying to remember her mother's reaction to a tantrum she or Souta had thrown in the years before they had matured. And it hit her.

"Both of you," She snapped, praying she was doing a decent imitation of her mother. "You are to go to your rooms this instant. Sesshoumaru and I will discuss this, and you will agree with our conclusion. But acting like squalling children is not going to help your case. To your rooms right now!"

It worked like magic. Children world wide and through the centuries knew the tone, and knew that to disobey meant something far worse than going to their room. Both of them stopped crying immediately and looked up at the suddenly authoritarian woman glowering down at them.

"Jaken, you are to follow them and make sure they get there. No games. No playing together."

"Yes, Lady Kagome." It seemed her tone had even instilled some fear into the toad as he ushered the two children off towards the main house.

"That was..." Sesshoumaru began.

"Dear gods, I can't believe that. It was like I was channeling my mother for a minute," Kagome stated simply as she slouched and let her head fall into her crossed arms.

"I don't recall my mother using that particular move, but I was not a child given to tantrums."

"Every child is, no matter how perfect they might be. Even you I bet. You probably just blocked it out."

"My mother could be quite intimidating."

"You had to get it from somewhere."

"Are you saying I'm intimidating?"

"I'm saying you can cow small children and adults into silence. Humans fear you, youkai live in terror of you."

"And yet you can speak so freely to me, even insult me on occasion."

"I know better."

"And what would that be?"

"That beneath it all you're just another being with a heart and a personality, not much of one, but it's there. Somewhere beneath all the haughty, holier than thou art stuff. Otherwise you wouldn't have tried so hard to embarrass me when no one was around to see."

"I wasn't trying to spare you in front of others," He began, growling, slightly angry at her words.

"No, you were doing it for fun for yourself, and not in a holier than thou art way, which means you get amusement out of something besides making people feel inferior. It's not much, but you might have a chance at getting a soul someday," Kagome told him as she looked up.

"I have a soul," He began, seriously offended at her accusation.

"I know, it's an expression," She began.

"It is a very offensive one," He barked.

"Wow. I actually hit a nerve. And about you having as soul." Kagome felt something akin to wonder. She thought he only got mildly insulted by mentioning his blood ties to 'that hanyou' as he referred to Inu Yasha.

"Even implying someone has no soul is a grave insult. You accuse them of blasphemies against the greater spirits."

"I never took you for the religious type," She said as he sat down across from her, his knees crossing and form bending gracefully. He poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it thoughtfully.

He decided to give in to intellectual curiosity about the woman. He would be traveling with her after all.

"I am not. Not like you humans seem to be. But I know there are magics in the world, I know there are spirits. And something wild that is the earth. I am content to let it rename nameless. I give thanks to it, but I don't sacrifice to it, pray to it. It is enough, I think, to acknowledge that exists and it has allowed me to be what I am."

"That is oddly insightful coming from you."

"Our's is a land of spirituality and ritual and philosophy. Why should it be so surprising?"

"I never pegged you for the type that thought about any of it. You just seem so," Kagome groped for a word.

"Superior?"

"Apathetic. Like everything is below you and not worthy of notice."

"As much as it pains me to say it, there are forces greater out there than I. Not many, but they exist. And hubris carries a heavy price. I do not intend to make the mistake that exacts that price."

"Wow. You're more than one dimensional. I guess you learn a new thing every day," Kagome said as she sipped her own tea thoughtfully.

Sesshoumaru bristled for a moment then decided to ignore the wench.

"My family has owned a shrine for generations. It's actually where Inu Yasha's well is, at least in my time. The god tree is actually on the property. My grandfather is so obsessed with the old stories. He tried to seal Inu Yasha when he first saw him. And he's convinced everything is possessed. And everything has a story. I used to think it was all complete and utter nonsense, but then I fell through the well, and I have to wonder at his stories. Do Gods exist? Well, if demons and magic time travel portals do, why not Gods?"

"I have never met a God."

"Maybe you have, in disguise. I had never met a demon until I came here."

"Perhaps you had, they were in disguise," He mocked.

"Possibly."

He was not ready for her to capitulate so quickly.

"It is possible, I suppose. At least if you follow your logic, which is sound for a human."

"Do you know something I don't?" Kagome snorted.

"Only that I've been around centuries longer, and I have yet to see divinity reveal itself to anyone."

"Perhaps it has, in everything we breathe, and touch. In the things that grow, in giving birth. In making a sword, or in a forest."

"You're very poetic. But it would have to be a boy."

"What would?"

"To make the act of giving birth divine."

"I forgot how chauvinistic the men in this time were." Sesshoumaru was intrigued by this word and her sudden mood swing.

"What is chauvinistic?"

"It's, well, it means thinking females are inferior and that males are more important."

"They are."

"No, they're not."

"Women cannot take care of themselves. They are physically weaker. And without men they would not be able to bear children. Also, they are completely at the mercy of any force when they are pregnant."

"I'll grant you that some women are weaker than men. But women cradle life. They nurture. Men would have no children without women. Women endure pain men cannot begin to imagine, and they do it gladly. They suffer every indignity and do it smiling. Tell me, who has greater will, the man who snaps blindly at whatever might offend him, or the woman who will smile serenely at the imbecile that insults her, controlling her own reaction?" Kagome asked sweetly.

Sesshoumaru felt a flicker of annoyance, feeling that the last comment had been directed at him.

"Women do not have the ability to think as well as a man."

"Give them half a chance and they can."

"Are you suggesting your mind works as well as mine?" He demanded.

"I am. I may not know war strategy, it was not something I was taught, but I bet I could learn. And I do know mathematics, sciences of all kinds, literature and poetry. History and languages. I bet if it came to it, not only could I match you, I could beat you."

"Apparently they do not teach you etiquette or humility."

"They tried, but no one's perfect. Besides, I'd rather be smart and rude than a simpering, polite female."

"Your father should have thrashed your insolence out of you."

"My father died when I was a child."

"Raised by your mother? No wonder you have such strange ideas."

"My mother raised me to be strong and honorable. To give every endeavor my all. To use my brain over my muscles, and to live my life to the fullest. That is more than I can say about your mother, if you even had one. I bet you were hatched," Kagome snapped.

"My mother is refined and strong and everything a proper lady should be," Sesshoumaru told her, his voice betraying his anger.

"Good thing I'm not a lady then."

And there was the crux of the problem. Kagome was not a lady. He had been taught to deal with Ladies. And thus far none of them had managed to engage him in any sort of interesting conversation, much less pull him into an argument.

"How did your father die?" He asked, changing the subject quickly. His plan worked, and Kagome's train of thought came screeching to a halt. She looked completely disarmed by the question. And then she turned inward, pensive.

"It was a car accident. He was so strong, I remember. We thought he'd make it. Some crazy, suicidal asshole tried walking in traffic, trying to kill himself. Apparently it's common. My dad swerved to avoid him, ended up hitting a light pole. He lasted for twelve days, through four surgeries. The doctors tried everything. Souta was so bewildered. I kept trying to calm him down, he kept wanting to cry. Mom was trying to be strong. She kept telling us he would be okay, that dad could pull through anything."

Sesshoumaru smelt the tears, and suddenly felt like he had done something very mean, although for the life of him he couldn't understand why he should feel that way.

"We lived in the hospital for those twelve days. I hate hospitals. It was always so cold. It was summer and we had to wear sweaters to stay warm. And mom would always cry when she thought we were asleep. Dad, he never woke up. We kept talking to him. Mom said he could hear. I've never been sure. I kept asking him to come back to us. If he had heard us, he would have come back," Kagome finished, swallowing hard. She kept the tears in check, for which Sesshoumaru was grateful. He could handle Rin's tears, but not a woman's.

"What is a car?" He asked finally, after giving Kagome a few moments to compose herself. She seemed grateful for the change of subject.

"It's sort of a carriage, powered by a chemical reaction, similar to well, huh. I'm trying to think of anything similar here. Think of fire, it's a chemical reaction that creates energy. A car is a carriage that is powered by something like that. It uses fuel and electricity, which is sort of like contained bolts of lightening channeled in a proper manner."

"It seems very complicated for travel," Sesshoumaru stated doubtfully.

"They're very efficient. They only require fuel when you run out, and if you keep everything in working order, they don't break down. They require less work than horses, and anyone can drive, although in Tokyo you don't really need to."

"Why is that?"

"There is a bus system, and most things you need are close by. The bus system can take you tons of places all over the country though."

"What is a bus?" He had no trouble keeping up with her, but she kept throwing out new terms, seeming to forget he knew nothing of them.

"A bus is like a giant car that carries many people. You pay a small fee and ride to a destination."

"Sounds horrible. I prefer flying."

Kagome decided not to mention airplanes today. She'd save that invention for another day.

"You were right, about not being a Lady," He said suddenly, when the silence was getting oppressive.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Sesshoumaru felt in some small way, that it was, even if he hadn't meant it to be.

"So now that you've deemed me fit for traveling, what do we do about the children?" Kagome asked several hours later after she had proven that her skill with a bow and arrow was not impacted by the blow to her head.

"We can't take them with us, they would slow us down and we would be exposing them to danger needlessly."

"I'm not sure we can hold them back. Shippou can be wily when he chooses to be. If I tell him I'm leaving him here, he might try to follow, and Rin would follow. They wouldn't be protected and would end up hurt anyway."

"Is the kit really so headstrong?"

"I think he might have been really hurt while I was gone. Not physically, but Inu Yasha is a bit of a bully at best. In the frame of mind he's in right now, I can't really say what happened. And I don't really know Kikyo at all. Anything's possible. I'm the one he's known the longest, and he's terrified I'll leave again."

"If you say the kit is yours, why did you leave in the first place?" Sesshoumaru asked conversationally. Kagome noticed his tone had changed to much more disinterested, as if he wanted to make sure she didn't notice how much the question bothered him.

"I didn't have a choice. Inu Yasha forced me down the well, and then used a huge rock to plug it up. I don't know what else he or Kikyo did, but I wasn't able to come back through it. I tried, but I just kept landing at the bottom of the well in my time. After a few months, I gave up. Hope was killing me."

"And then one day a youkai came waltzing into your life and showed you the portal to my mother's bedroom?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth," Kagome said with a laugh. Sesshoumaru's gaze narrowed and Kagome sobered quickly.

"Either way, it wasn't my choice. But I got back and I hope I changed his history. His son told me that in the time line that was set, Shippou had seen some pretty horrible stuff, things that he shouldn't have. I hope I saved him at least some of the scars."

The taiyoukai seemed satisfied with her answer and appeared to think.

"If he would try to follow and put himself and my ward in danger, it seems the only option is to bring them with us. At least that way we have watch over them. But he cannot give in to tantrums as he has been. It has caused my ward to express similar behavior and that will not do. Rin is being tutored as a Lady and I will not have that destroyed. She is a human in the world of youkai. I want her to at least have the tools to survive it."

"I think you're arming her the wrong way."

"And I think you spoil the kit."

"We'll have to agree to disagree," Kagome sighed.

"Indeed. I suppose this means Jaken must accompany us. He will be able to look after the children should need arise."

"You mean he makes a great torture toy for them to play with."

"Has anyone ever told you that there is such a thing as too much honesty?"

"Only ladies," Kagome shot back at him as she the training yard.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair. Shippou and Rin were both sulking from their earlier punishments. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes when Shippou would only pick at his food. Rin was emulating the kit's behavior, stabbing at her food with her chopsticks.

"We have decided that you may come with us, but there will be conditions, do the both of you understand that?" Sesshoumaru said finally. Shippou and Rin both squealed in glee.

Kagome inwardly sighed. She had hoped that Sesshoumaru wouldn't be so stern. Apparently her prayers were always answered with 'no'.

"Both of you, listen. Sesshoumaru is only doing this because I told him you would both be on your best behavior. No fighting, no screaming, and not jumping into battles. Shippou, it will be your job to protect Rin if Sesshoumaru and I battle. That's a lot of responsibility. You can't leave her alone and jump in with us."

"Who will protect you though?" The kit asked, his eyes wide. Kagome's brain stuttered as she tried to find an answer that would be acceptable to the child.

"Sesshoumaru will."

"But he's tried hurting you before."

"He won't know."

"Why?"

"Because he believes in the mission I'm on."

"Why?"

"Because he wants to help his people and fulfill his obligations to them as Lord."

"Why?"

"Because it is my duty, and duty I inherited when my father died. Because I am honor bound to," Sesshoumaru finally snapped, tired of the why game the child seemed to play so well.

"Now, do you two understand the rules? No fighting, no tantrums, and being safe?" Kagome asked them gently. Two pairs of contrasting eyes were wide as their heads nodded in agreement. Kagome wanted them to understand her, but hoped she had not been too strict. She didn't want to impress the gravity of her mission on them. They were so small and young, and still relatively innocent for the time period they lived in. She wanted it to stay that way as long as it could.

"Then it's settled. My affairs of state have been in order, so all that needs done is packing. We leave tomorrow. Both of you finish your food and get to bed. Tomorrow will come very early."

The small children nodded and dug into their plates with vigor, excited and babbling about the journey ahead of them.

It struck her then, how much like a family having dinner they were. It reminded her sharply of the days before her father's death. Her tears threatened to resurface and she quashed them down, determined not to let Rin or her kit see them.

Sesshoumaru looked at her sharply as she did and she smiled back brightly, hiding any trace that sadness had entered her mind.

* * *

"Why did you almost cry tonight?" Sesshoumaru asked after Jaken had seen the children off to their rooms.

"No reason," Kagome told him, lying through her teeth. She refused to admit that the scene at the dinner table reminded her so much of being part of a whole family. She was pretty sure Sesshoumaru would start breathing fire if she mentioned anything remotely relating him to father status. Especially if she had felt like the mother.

"You forget that my sense of smell is superior. I smelled tears."

"Is the Great Lord beginning to care?" Kagome snapped defensively.

"No. But you said before that you are a tool, and tools are treated with care. If you are emotional, I do not want to risk you missing the shards or being in the wrong state of mind for a battle."

"No worries there. It was just a passing thought."

"About Inu Yasha?"

"No. About my dad."

Silence.

"Anyway, I'm heading to the baths."

"Again?"

"One, I smell from training. Two, I don't know when I'll get the next one. And three, baths are a really nice way to relax."

"You are a very odd human."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You seem to do that with everything I say."

"Shouldn't I?" She called over her shoulder carelessly as she exited.

* * *

The woman was infuriating. It was as simple as that. He had ridden the knife edge of his temper half of the day. She had successfully knocked him off of that edge time and again, and it annoyed him that she could so easily. No one should be able to bring him to anger and then push him away from that edge so quickly.

He decided it must be the novelty of a woman like her. She was intriguing because she was willing to talk to him as a man would, not as a Lady, or even as a servant, or as a peasant. It was a rare thing for him, and he grudgingly admitted it was nice to have someone speaking to him plainly instead of hiding a million meanings in flowery protocol and any purpose they could think of behind their actions.

But still. She affected him too much. He needed to put some amount of distance between himself and the miko.

It would not be difficult. She was silent when he was silent. She would not engage in conversation if he refused to reply, and she seemed to hate the idea of being treated like a lady of the times. Which he could do. She would hate it, but it would make her keep her distance.

Plan laid out, Sesshoumaru allowed a smile to form as he slipped lower into his personal bath. The servants had filled the tub and he lounged gratefully. He would admit one thing though. The woman was right. Baths could be very relaxing.

* * *

Kagome tried figuring out the demon that had spoken so easily with her. He seemed nothing like the distant youkai of a few days ago. Perhaps he wasn't always so distant. Maybe it was just with people that didn't travel with him. Or her connection to Inu Yasha. She had to admit though, the journey seemed less dreary now that she had someone to talk to on a mature level, even if half of their talks were debates or downright arguments.

Or if they involved painful memories. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let her tears fall, even though no one was around to see them. Her father's death was something that still haunted her. She always took the bus, always watched when she crossed the street. And she refused to drive. Not that it mattered in a huge place like Tokyo, but still. Her friends would jump at the chance to drive, and the only time she had ever even tried, she had tumbled out of the driver's side, her heart palpitating in her chest and stomach rolling. She didn't even get in cars if she could help it. The bus, subway, or walking. No cars. Ever.

She forced her mind to something, anything else as desperately as she could. The first thing that came to mind was Sesshoumaru. She marveled at the difference between the youkai and his half brother. They looked similar is a basic way. But Sesshoumaru had some sort of authority that radiated from him. She supposed he had learned it from his father. In this time he would not have been allowed to spend much time with his mother. His father had probably taken charge of him at a young age. No wonder he thought so little of women. He probably hadn't spent much time with them.

And despite the same gold tint to their eyes, Inu Yasha's were closer to hazel, Sesshoumaru's a true gold. And there was no question about skin tone. Sesshoumaru was as pale as the moon, Inu Yasha tan. Their facial structures were different too. Kagome wondered at that as well. She tried to find similarities to piece together what their father had looked like and came up with a tan, rougher version of Sesshoumaru, but that was it.

Giving up, Kagome let her thoughts wander to other subjects. How could she prove to the taiyoukai that she was just as intelligent as he was? She could show him mathematical equations, or have him present a challenge, or teach about war strategy. Or something. Anything that could make the journey go by more quickly.

"There's got to be something. Something that is considered for men only that I can show him I can do."

She let herself float in the bath and on occasion she let her whole body sink into the giant tub. Pushing air out of her lungs through her nose, she'd watch the bubbles float to the surface, mulling over ideas.

Nothing terribly impressive came leaping to mind and finally she stood, sighing in agitation. She had to think of something.

Pulling the towel around her, she sighed and crept through the building. She had not seen any servants, but that didn't mean they didn't exist. It just meant they were good at their job. But she had forgotten clean clothes and the idea of pulling on her smelly ones was not appealing. Praying, looked around every corner and continued on, trying to remember the exact way to her room while avoiding being seen by servants. Servants of a lord that would be scandalized by the sight of a young human woman in nothing but a towel.

"It would be so much easier if every wall and door didn't look the same," She snarled as she navigated. Normally, Kagome considered herself rather adept at navigating. Tonight, she cursed her luck as she opened a door, mistaking it for her own room. Instead, she noticed someone in a huge copper bathtub, relaxing in steaming water.

She was about to try and creep away when she noticed the head of silver hair turning in her direction and the golden eyes pinning her down.

"What are you doing?" He snarled.

Odd, he didn't seem very threatening when he was in a tub. Even if he did growl.

"I'm looking for my room."

"Dressed, or more aptly, not dressed, like that?"

"Well, I didn't have clean clothes and I wasn't going to put on dirty ones."

"Woman, you have got to be the," He began.

"Don't even finish that if you don't want me to zap you."

"You dare," he began.

"I dare. Now, which way to my room and you can get back to your bath," She replied tartly.

_'That little-'_

"Waiting," He heard, but didn't quite believe.

And his ego felt the stab. For the first time, a woman was acting as a superior. And she had challenged him. No one ever did that and went without an answer.

_'Which is good you brute, she's a human, and an annoying, ignorant, heathen at that,'_ his inner voice snorted derisively. And that was the thought that snapped him back to reality with a growl.

He toweled off, taking his time as her foot began to tap. Her insolence was grating on her his nerves as he dressed himself.

"Are you putting on your armor?" Kagome finally snapped, turning around. Her eyes widened in shock at seeing the scarred torso of the demon in the light of the lamps. He was tying a pair of pants around his waist, and he glared at her.

And he was scarred. The breath in her throat hitched as she tried, vainly, to even guess how many criss-crossed over the canvas of his chest and back.

Sesshoumaru felt his body stiffen as she stared at his scars. They were not badges of honor for him, but testament to his lack of ability throughout his life. While he held no shame in them, they were not something he flaunted as so many others did. But she made him feel very conscious of them, for the first time in decades. And her gaze unnerved him.

"How, how did you," Kagome said, her hand reaching out. Then, as if realizing what her hand had been reaching for, she forced it down to her side.

"The normal way. Your room is the next left, then right. Third door, it will have a guard next to it."

He hated her for fleeing like a scared rabbit. He hated the instinct to hunt and chase her even more. But he hated the pity he had seen building in her eyes.

* * *

Okay, yeah. I know. It was just sort of crammed out. I'm still asking my muses to forgive me for locking them in a closet.


End file.
